Much Ado in the Torchwood Hub
by SerenBex
Summary: Much Ado About Nothing/Doctor Who & Torchwood crossover. Donna/Jack, River/Eleven. Warning to Rose or Rose/Doctor lovers; you may not want to read this. Yes, it's a rubbish title, but my brain's stopped working.
1. Chapter 1

**_A/N: OK, so, I love Donna/Jack and River/Eleven. I also love Much Ado About Nothing. So what could be better than a Doctor Who/Much Ado About Nothing crossover? _**

**_One warning - do not read if you love Rose Tyler or Rose/Doctor. OK? Well, don't blame me if you get upset about her behaviour in this fic._**

**_Thank you to nicoleniks94 for supporting/encouraging me - as always! 3_**

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**Act 1, Scene 1 – "What, my dear Lady Disdain! Are you yet living?"**

"Doctor, you CANNOT be serious?"

Jack sighed deeply as he heard the shriek that heralded the arrival of the Doctor and his companions to the Torchwood Three Hub, even over the blaring sirens that accompanied the door opening. Since the Doctor had managed to find a way of partially halting the metacrisis and keeping the life-threatening part of the Time Lord consciousness in Donna's mind safely locked away, they had been dropping into Cardiff every so often so that they could run the necessary checks and ensure that she was in no danger of burning up. The Doctor was confident that, given enough time, he would find a way of permanently fixing the problem. He just needed to keep her safe until then.

The only problem with them dropping in every now and then was that it meant that Jack was forced to spend several days in the company of that woman. That woman being Donna. She drove Jack completely insane with her constant remarks, fault-finding, argumentativeness and the insults that she no longer even bothered to sugar-coat or disguise as back-handed compliments. When Donna was around it was like a red rag to a bull.

"Donna, I assure you I am perfectly serious. I wouldn't joke about something like this." The Doctor replied, his voice audible as the alarms stopped; only Donna could reach decibels that were noticeable above the sirens. Jack moved to his office door and opened it, peering down at the group entering the Hub. "The TARDIS needs time to refuel from the Rift."

"So I have to put up with the company of Captain Crack-pot for even longer than usual?" His companion demanded, her voice infuriating Jack even more than he remembered. He ground his teeth in annoyance, wondering whether to pretend that he'd gone out so that he could avoid seeing her for a while longer.

Before the Doctor could answer, Jack heard Gwen greeting their visitors and decided that perhaps he should head down to the main part of the Hub as well. As much as it felt like the best option, avoiding her was just putting off the inevitable.

"Doctor!" He called, leaping down the last couple of stairs and shooting them his wide, toothy grin. "Good to see you. And River Song, delectable as ever. Amy, Rory, how's it going?"

"Hello, have I become the invisible woman or something?" Donna muttered, obviously irritated.

"Sadly, no." Jack told her; secretly delighted that he'd managed to annoy her so quickly. That surely had to be a record of some kind. "You also appear to still be alive. Well done."

"Yeah, well, some of us haven't got the luxury of not being able to die." She snapped back, glaring at him ferociously. "Some of us actually have to put some effort into staying alive."

"Most children can do it… although, I suppose most small children also have a higher IQ than you…"

"Right!" Gwen cut across them before they went too far in their bickering and it was impossible for anyone else to get a word in. "Who fancies a cuppa? Mickey, be a sweetheart and put the kettle on."

The young man nodded and disappeared into the kitchen, leaving the Doctor and his companions to make themselves at home. Amy and Rory made themselves comfortable on the sofa in the corner, chatting openly with Gwen about what had happened since they'd last seen her. River was interestedly examining several alien artefacts that had been unceremoniously abandoned on various surfaces around the Hub and Donna had sat at one of the desks and was flipping absent-mindedly through one of the large manila envelopes that was stuffed full of case notes from one of their most recent missions, while Martha readied the medical bay for her check-up.

"Doctor…" Jack muttered, jerking his head in the direction of the steps down towards the vaults.

The Doctor blinked more often than was usual, displaying his confusion, but followed Jack down the stone steps anyway. He was about to open his mouth to demand an explanation of what was going on, when he spotted the reason for his friend's request and closed his mouth abruptly.

Standing at the end of the run of vaults was a young woman.

A young, blonde woman.

An incredibly familiar young, blonde woman.

"Rose Tyler." The Doctor breathed, his face splitting into a wide beaming smile at the sight of her.

She grinned shyly back for a moment before they both moved at the same time; running towards each other like in a film. It was an exact echo of that night, years ago for both of them now, when their reunion had been cut short by that Dalek. This time, however, there was no Dalek to prevent their delighted sprint towards each other. The Doctor hugged her tightly, swinging her round and laughing happily. Rose giggled, clinging tightly to the new body that encased the man she loved.

When they broke apart Jack had vanished, displaying a surprising level of tact for him, leaving them free to talk privately.

"What are you doing here… again?" The Doctor asked, still grinning wildly. He was unable to take his eyes off her, as though he still couldn't quite believe it was real.

"I came to see you, of course!" Rose replied as though it was the most obvious answer in the world and grinning back so broadly that she felt her cheeks might fall off. She was so happy to see him that it actually physically hurt.

"How did you do it?"

"Always with the technical questions." She laughed. "You haven't changed, have you? Apart from the face and the… bow tie?"

"Well, actually–"

Rose shrugged. "It doesn't matter anyway. You're still him… you're still the Doctor."

"That's true." The Doctor agreed readily. "So? Are you going to tell me how you did it?"

"I rebuilt the Dimension Cannon. We gathered up all the bits that were left over or salvageable from the last one and reconfigured the core data." The blonde told him with a shrug, as though what she was telling him was nothing more interesting than an anecdote about popping to the travel agents and buying a plane ticket. "This version of the Cannon is far more stable than the last one; no chance of temporal feedback at all and the simulations we ran indicated that there would be minimal void disturbance. I arrived here about three weeks ago. Jack told me about the regeneration and said it wouldn't be long before you showed up and he was right, here you are!"

"So you're back! What are you going to do? Work for Torchwood? Mickey's married to Martha now, so…" He stopped talking quickly as he noticed her expression change.

Her face fell slightly and her eyes flickered over his face, as though she was trying to read him; to work out whether he was just teasing her about working for Torchwood. For a moment she managed to convince herself that he was. Then she realised that he was deadly serious and her face fell completely.

"I was hoping… maybe… I could come with you?"

"Ahh…" He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Well, the thing is… it's a bit crowded on the TARDIS at the moment with Donna and Amy and River and–"

"Oh, right, OK."

"No, I mean… of course you're welcome to come with us. Anytime, Rose Tyler. You're always welcome."

"No, it's fine. I get it. You've got a family now." She said in a much colder tone, smiling tightly at him, not quite able to meet his eyes. "We'd better go up…"

Before the Doctor could ask what she meant by him having a family now, she had started up the steps, not waiting for him. He frowned and followed his former companion back up to the main part of the Hub slowly. He didn't entirely understand what had just happened. All he knew was that he had been overjoyed to see his friend again and she had been similarly delighted. Next thing he knew she seemed to be angry with him. It was all very disconcerting for the Time Lord.

But as soon as he was back upstairs his eyes sought out River, immediately reassured by the warm, slightly amused smile she sent him across the Hub. He missed Rose's face as she turned to look at him, noticing the look in his eyes.

As soon as the Doctor had managed to make himself heard over Donna and Jack's incessant bickering – not an easy task as they seemed to be in the middle of a full-blown argument – introductions were made between Rose and the Doctor's companions and Rose was reintroduced to Donna. For a moment, a flicker of understanding crossed Rose's face as Amy and River were introduced, but then it vanished. The blonde was politeness itself to Rory, but greeted the three women with a distinct coldness, her eyes glinting with intense, immediate dislike. They were all taken aback by this – the Doctor's version of Rose Tyler, and the one Donna remembered from the Dalek Crucible, not tying in with this young woman at all.

After a couple of painfully awkward moments, everyone moved off to do their own thing once more. Gwen offered to take the Ponds and River on a tour of Cardiff, Martha ushered a reluctant Donna off to the medical bay for her tests and Mickey and Rose went to man the desk in the Tourist Centre above them. Only Jack and the Doctor were left without anything much to do.

Taking his chance now that they were alone, the Doctor followed Jack up to his office and closed the door carefully. Jack looked mildly surprised by the action and leant back in his chair, looking the Doctor up and down for any clue as to what was going on. Then he grinned and winked.

"Oh… stop it Jack." The Doctor cautioned him, flapping a hand in his direction. Jack chuckled and leant forwards, resting his arms on his desk and fixing the Time Lord with a questioning gaze.

"What can I do for you, Doctor?" He asked casually.

"I wanted to ask you… you're better at these things than I am…"

"What things?" Jack demanded, raising an eyebrow.

"Love, things."

Jack snorted derisively and leant back in his chair once more. "Love? Ha! I don't believe in it. It's just something made up between the film industry and business bosses to trick people into consumerism."

"What?" The Doctor looked totally confused by his words. "What are you talking about?"

"Think about it… when you think about love you think about those scenes in films; kissing in the rain, slow motion running, fog clearing on a station platform. It's ridiculous. It's just a scam to get you to buy into the whole idea. Take Valentine's Day, for example, it's just another day, but it's an excuse for them to squeeze money out of us for chocolate, flowers, the cinema, restaurants, hotels…"

"You've really thought about this, haven't you?" The Time Lord muttered, looking a little concerned by the venom behind Jack's words.

"All I know is I won't be stupid enough to play into their hands." He paused. "So, what, specifically, did you want to ask me?"

The Doctor looked as though he'd changed his mind about speaking to the man about his problem. Then he sighed, deciding that even talking to Jack would be better than nothing. "River."

"Ah, the stunning Ms Song."

"Yes, her."

"Well… what exactly about her, Doctor?" Jack asked with a sigh, wanting his friend to elaborate.

"Oh, right." The Doctor rubbed his neck nervously and made a face. "I think… well… I'm pretty sure that I might… love her."

"Then you're a fool and I'm very sorry."

"No, Jack, but she's… she's amazing."

"She's gorgeous, I'll give you that." Jack agreed with a shrug. "But does that mean you have to go falling in love?"

"I didn't choose to fall in love, Jack. I just did. One day you will too and then you'll have to eat your words."

The man snorted. "I don't think so."

"You will."

"I won't." Jack said firmly. "Especially with women like Donna around to remind me of the consequences of falling in love. That's what happens… you fall in love with a woman like River Song and then you realise you're married to Donna Noble."

"What's wrong with Donna?" The Doctor demanded defensively. "She's my best friend."

"She's evil."

"Just because she doesn't hang off your every word?"

"No, because she's made of pure evil with a hint of chilli powder thrown in for good measure."

The Doctor chuckled in amusement. "She is not that bad… you haven't met her mother."

"I honestly don't know why you can't see it, Doctor."

"Because Donna Noble is perfectly lovely. You just don't like her because she doesn't uphold your view that you are god's gift to women… and men… and, quite frankly, everything in between." This seemed to tickle Jack's sense of humour because he threw back his head and laughed loudly. Sighing, the Doctor shook his head. "But Jack, you still haven't told me what to do about River?"

"What d'you want me to say?"

"Well what do I say to her? How do I... err… raise the subject?"

"Look, I'll ask River tonight. We'll go out; celebrate the big reunion or something – you and your companions back together. Then I'll buy River a drink and… see what happens."

"Jack…" The Doctor growled warningly.

Jack laughed and then stood up, shaking his head. "Don't worry; I won't do anything bad!" He grinned and winked. "Come on. Let's go and see how Donna's tests are going. If I'm lucky Martha might let me stab a needle or scalpel or something equally sharp into the woman."


	2. Chapter 2

**Act 1, Scene 2 – "We will hold it as a dream 'til it appear itself"**

To Jack's immense disappointment there was no chance of him being able to cause Donna discomfort because Martha seemed to have finished her tests. She was checking a printout covered in various squiggly lines in various colours. Donna was just pulling her top back on and Jack got a good eyeful of her lacy black bra. He smirked and stored it away for future teasing; she would hate that he'd seen her so uncovered.

"How is she? What are her levels like? How's the old brain?" The Doctor fired questions at the medic, not noticing that his companion was only just dressed and bouncing over to her. He threw an arm around her shoulders, before looking expectantly at Martha for her answer.

Donna shrugged his arm off, smoothing her top down over her stomach and rolled her eyes at him. She couldn't hide the fond smile that had crept over her face, however. "I'm fine you prawn… like I said before. Stop fussing!"

"She really is fine, Doctor. All the readings we were concerned about are coming back at totally normal levels. There's absolutely nothing to be worried about… although she is showing much higher levels of Progesterone than usual."

"Yeah, thanks, Martha… they don't need to know that." Donna said. She rolled her eyes as the Doctor blushed a deep pink, looking a little flustered.

"Right, sorry, but… I am a little concerned at just how high the levels are." Martha continued, holding out the clipboard in the Doctor's direction, while glancing at Jack as well as though asking for his opinion on the readings. "Would you…?"

Donna snatched the clipboard away from the Doctor's hands before he could get a firm hold on it. "No, no, no. I'm fine."

"Donna!" The Doctor cried, trying to grasp onto the paper, which his companion held firmly out of his reach. She rounded on him in annoyance.

"I do not want you and Captain Rack-inspector over there talking about my Progesterone levels, thank you very much, Spaceman. If Martha wants to look into it, that's fine but you, sunshine, are not."

"Why, Donna? Are you worried about what we might discover is the cause?" Jack asked, grinning broadly, his eyes twinkling with delight at her obvious discomfort.

"What does that even mean? That doesn't even make sense." She snapped, rolling her eyes and glaring at him.

He chuckled, folding his arms and perching on the desk behind him with a nonchalant shrug. "Well, you know… close proximity to me… elevated Progesterone levels… You're only human. Well, human-Time Lord highbred."

"Eurgh, you really are full of yourself, aren't you?" She snapped, her face going pink with anger and frustration. "If you were the last man on Earth you wouldn't have any effect on my hormone levels."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Keep telling yourself that, honey." Jack told her with a smirk and a wink.

Donna made a loud, exasperated growling sound and flounced out of the main part of the Hub, slamming the kitchen door behind her. Martha sighed, rolled her eyes and followed taking the clipboard with her.

"What?" Jack demanded innocently as he turned and found the Doctor regarding him with a look of annoyance.

The Doctor sniffed meaningfully and headed out of the Hub, intending to tinker with the TARDIS while he had the chance. It was difficult with his girls, as he liked to think of them – although he only called them that when he was alone because he knew they wouldn't find the title remotely amusing, around because they complained that they were bored. A lot. They always seemed to get bored when he started tinkering; he didn't understand it at all.

Rory passed Jack on the stairs, as the Head of Torchwood Three was making his way up to his office. Neither spoke, merely nodded a greeting at the other – both too lost in their own thoughts to really acknowledge the other. Jack was mentally screaming his frustration at Donna's presence in his Hub while Rory was mulling over something he'd heard.

When Gwen had suggested giving the Ponds a tour of Cardiff they'd headed out to the Bay. Deciding it was chilly, Rory had popped back for his jacket and when he returned to the surface his wife, daughter and their guide were nowhere to be seen. It didn't really surprise Rory; he was used to such occurrences and, with a shrug, headed back down to the Hub.

Finding it deserted, apart from Martha and Donna – the latter he was thoroughly embarrassed to notice was partially undressed – in the medical bay he had wandered around aimlessly for a while, mainly trying to avoid compromising Donna's privacy. As he wandered along the corridor where the board room and Jack's office were, he caught part of a conversation taking place inside; part of a conversation that made his mouth drop open in surprise and mild horror.

"Look, I'll ask River tonight. We'll go out; celebrate the big reunion or something – you and your companions back together. Then I'll buy River a drink and… see what happens." He heard Jack saying and, even through the door, Rory could imagine the look on the man's face. He didn't like the image one little bit.

"Jack…" The noise the Doctor made sounded like a warning.

There was a chuckle from inside the office. "Don't worry; I won't do anything bad! Come on. Let's go and see how Donna's tests are going. If I'm lucky Martha might..."

Rory didn't wait around to hear the rest of that sentence. He darted sideways into the thankfully open boardroom and stayed out of sight until the two men had descended the stairs to the main part of the Hub. Waiting until he heard raised voices and a door slamming, correctly guessing that Jack and Donna were ensconced in yet another argument, Rory moved out of the room and closed the door behind him.

As he descended the stairs, he passed Jack and wondered briefly whether he should demand an explanation of his comments. But then the man was gone, closing his office door with a bang and Rory continued down to the main floor instead.

He didn't have very long to wait before the sirens blared, the red lights flashed and the door opened revealing Gwen, Amy and River laden with shopping bags. Rory was immediately relieved that they'd left him behind; he didn't fancy having to carry all of those bags around the city. As soon as Amy set her shopping bags down on the ground, her husband was on his feet. He grabbed her hand and dragged her away in the direction of the vaults.

"Oh for… you could at least speak to her first!" River shouted after them, a cheeky glint in her eyes. "We've only been gone a couple of hours, Dad!"

Amy laughed as he let go of her hand and turned to face her. Before he could speak she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.

"Thank you…" He muttered, almost instinctively. "But I need to tell you something."

"What?" Amy asked, sighing and sitting on the rough bench that ran along the wall. She crossed her legs and looked at him expectantly.

"I think… I think Jack might be going to… flirt with River." He said, uncomfortably.

"What's new?" Amy asked, laughing. "When doesn't Jack flirt with River? When doesn't Jack flirt with anyone – except Donna, obviously."

"No, but I mean… I think he's going to seriously flirt with River."

There was a pause as Amy thought about what he'd said. "D'you mean… he's going to try and sleep with her?"

"Yes!"

"He wouldn't." The red-head told him decisively. "He wouldn't dare."

Rory sighed. "He would, he's Jack."

"How do you even know this, Rory?"

"After you left me behind… thanks for that, by the way… I was wondering around the Hub looking for him and the Doctor. They were in his office and I clearly heard Jack say, 'I'll ask River tonight. We'll go out; celebrate the big reunion or something – you and your companions back together. Then I'll buy River a drink and… see what happens.' What else could that possibly mean?"

"He said exactly that?"

"Yes!"

"How can you remember that word for word?" She demanded, looking at him curiously.

Rory sighed. "That's not important, Amy. But surely that's enough evidence even for you?"

"Maybe… maybe they were joking?"

"Really?"

"OK, maybe Jack is going to hit on River." Amy agreed slowly. She shrugged. "But it's not as though River can't stand up for herself, is it? She'd just tell Jack where to go."

"Maybe…" He said, slightly relieved by this point.

"Besides, River and the Doctor have obviously got something going on. She knows him and he knows her."

"Would that stop Jack though?"

Amy smiled. "I don't think even Jack would cross that line, sweetie. Anyway, I'll believe it when it happens and not a minute sooner."

"I hope you're right… I wouldn't like to have to get my sword out."

"You can show me your sword any day." His wife replied with a wink, pulling him down on the seat beside her so that she could kiss him.


	3. Chapter 3

**Act 1, Scene 3 – "it is needful that you frame the season for your own harvest."**

"So, Mickey… you and Martha, eh?" Rose asked, grinning at her ex-boyfriend and leaning casually against the desk in the Tourist Centre where they were on duty. He didn't meet her eyes, rubbing one hand slightly warily over the back of his head. Briefly Rose was reminded of the nervous neck-rubbing the Doctor had done down in the vaults when she'd mentioned travelling with him again. This made her angry, so she put the thought out of her mind and smiled warmly at Mickey. "Oh, come on. We've been trapped in parallel universes and haven't seen each other for years. We're still mates, aren't we? Aren't you going to fill me in on all the gossip?"

"There's not much to say." He replied with a shrug, not wanting to go into the details of his relationship with his ex-girlfriend. Whatever he felt for his wife, Rose was still his first love and it felt like a betrayal; rubbing her nose in how happy he was with someone else when she was still alone. "You were left in that parallel universe with the Doctor clone or whatever he was and I came back here. There was nothing left for me over there anymore and Jack offered me and Martha jobs. Then… well… one thing led to another."

"I think it's sweet."

"Oh, get lost!" Mickey chuckled, pushing her arm gently as she teased him.

"No, really. I think it's really… sweet." She laughed and looked up as the door to the Centre opened.

An elderly couple walked in and spent about ten minutes browsing the very basic array of leaflets before approaching the desk and asking the pair behind it several detailed questions. Luckily, Jack had encouraged all of Torchwood's employees to read up on the area and what was happening in it, so Mickey and Rose had no problems informing the couple of all the upcoming events at the Millennium Centre and the quickest route to the St David's Shopping Centre in the middle of the city.

When the couple finally ambled out, taking a handful of leaflets each, there was a heavy silence for a couple of moments. Mickey awkwardly moved to tidy the display that they had been browsing through, unnecessarily moving leaflets around in the space. Behind him, Rose leant her elbows on the desk and thought about what to say to him.

"It was really hard." She said at last. Slowly Mickey turned to face her, one eyebrow raised questioningly. "Being left there in that parallel universe with the duplicate… he was the Doctor, but at the same time he wasn't. I tried, Mickey, I really did. But he just wasn't him."

"So you're back. What's your plan now?"

"I don't know." Rose admitted bitterly. "I thought the Doctor would be overjoyed to see me again. Well, he was. But then when I suggested that now things could go back to how they used to be – me and him travelling to all those wonderful places in the TARDIS – he got all uncomfortable and said it was a bit crowded at the moment. I mean, crowded? The TARDIS? The time machine that's bigger on the inside? How can the TARDIS possibly be crowded?"

"He has got more people on board than usual…" Mickey reasoned slowly.

She snorted cynically. "Yeah…"

"What?"

"I thought he'd jump at the chance to travel with me again." Rose admitted quietly, sneaking a glance at Mickey's reaction from underneath her hair. Her ex-boyfriend screwed up his face slightly, wondering at her habit of trying to second guess people's opinions. "I mean… Donna's great and all, but she's so… loud and argumentative. I'm surprised the Doctor's been able to cope with her dramatics for so long."

"She's his best friend. He's always saying it."

"Yeah, well… then there's Amy and Rory. Since when did the Doctor travel with couples?"

"He travelled with us… when we were still together, I mean." Mickey reminded her, shrugging and looking away so that he didn't have to meet her eyes.

Rose hesitated. "Well, yeah… but that was different. We weren't married, were we? But I wouldn't think travelling with a married couple would be the Doctor's style. Surely they'd be more bothered about making sure the other one was safe than doing anything useful? Besides, Amy seemed to love herself far too much. And then there's that River woman…"

"River's alright." Mickey said quickly, seeing where this conversation was heading.

"I don't like her. She's so full of herself. She thinks she's so great just because she was kidnapped when she was a baby or something."

"The Doctor seems to like her a lot."

"I don't see why." Rose growled. "What is there to like?" Mickey could think of a lot of reasons to like River, but he kept them to himself, knowing that Rose wouldn't want to hear about the woman's numerous good points. "Have you seen the way she's always all over the Doctor? And the way she walks around as if she owns everyone and everything around her? It makes me sick."

"Yeah, well, you'd better get used to it if you want to travel with the Doctor. I can't see him kicking them out anytime soon." Mickey told her with a shrug, returning to his position behind the desk. He wanted to add 'and I don't see why he should' under his breath, but he managed to restrain himself.

"Eurgh." She groaned, pulling a face.

"Look… if you seriously want things to go back to how they used to be then you'll have to remind the Doctor why he took you with him on the TARDIS before. You'll have to start being a lot nicer to his friends." He noticed her expression. "All of them."

"I can't pretend to like someone that I don't. If I don't like someone then it's obvious. It's just who I am. I can't change that."

Mickey shrugged. "You're gonna have to try, sweetheart, or you don't stand a chance of getting back on that spaceship."


	4. Chapter 4

**Act 2, Scene 1 – "Would it not grieve a woman to be overmastered with a piece of valiant dust?"**

Jack's suggestion of a night out to celebrate everyone being together again had gone down well and Gwen had suggested that the girls headed to her flat to get ready. The thought of pre-drinking, cheesy music and a good gossip was one that appealed to all in question and they had headed off, leaving the men to order pizza before they met up later on.

Rhys, Gwen's husband, had been warned about the impending invasion of women and quickly made plans to meet up with his friend Daf so that he would be well out of the way before they arrived. As soon as they filed into small, but obviously comfortable flat, the stereo was immediately turned on and several bottles of wine were opened. Rose seemed to be heeding Mickey's warning and was civil to the Doctor's companions, although the word friendly could never be applied to her attitude towards them.

As the track changed on the stereo and _Happy Now_ by _Take That_ started playing, Gwen gave a little shriek and turned the volume up even louder.

"I love _Take That_!" She enthused, taking another large gulp of wine from her glass and dancing around the living room, her hair flying out around her head. "Robbie Williams is gorgeous."

Donna got up to join her, pulling a face. "Nah, give me a bit of Jason Orange any day."

"No way! Gary Barlow is the best looking." Martha chipped in. "Although he's got nothing on my Mickey."

The others all made 'aww' noises before pulling faces and bursting into hysterical giggles. All except Donna, who rolled her eyes, dropped heavily onto the sofa and took a large gulp from her glass of wine and Rose, who looked as though she had just tasted something unpleasant.

"So, who's your perfect man, River?" Gwen asked, curiously as she applied her lipstick in the mirror, slightly wobbly after all the alcohol she'd drunk.

"Do you actually need to ask that question?" Donna asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Obviously it's the Doctor." Martha agreed with a nod; clinking her glass with Donna's as River rolled her eyes and arched her eyebrow in cynical amusement. "That's not even in question."

"She LOOOVESSS him!" Amy giggled, downing the remainder of the wine in her glass and causing the others to exchange a glance and snort with laughter at her clearly drunken state.

River sighed. "I think you've had enough, Mother."

None of them noticed the expression on Rose's face as they began to tease River about her relationship with the Doctor. She sat in the armchair in the corner, staring at the glass in her hands and fuming silently. After a couple of moments, Donna glanced up and noticed that she didn't look happy. Instantly realising the probable cause for this, she tried to change the subject.

"I don't see what's so great about marriage, anyway." She muttered, looking at the three married women amongst them. "You pay out all that money for a dress that you'll wear once, a venue you'd never think about going to usually and a meal and bar tab for people you avoid like the plague in normal circumstances and then it's all over in a matter of hours. When that's done, you go off on a holiday that costs more than it usually would just because you've recently got married. If you survive that, you go back to your normal life and before you know it he's moaning you don't make an effort anymore and you're telling him that he should work harder and earn more money."

"If it isn't Donna; the patron saint of weddings and marriage." Gwen muttered, grinning at her.

"I've had two weddings, so I beat all of you. I know how it works."

"Yes, but you only made it down the aisle the second time." Martha pointed out. "So we're even."

Donna nodded, conceding the point. "True… But Lance was going to feed me to a giant spider as soon as we were married, so I think I might just regain the lead a little there."

"So… would you ever get married again?" Amy asked, intrigued.

Snorting with laughter, Donna refilled her glass. "No way."

"But what if you fell in love?"

"Love?" Donna burst into hysterical giggles. "I don't believe in love. It's just a stupid myth put out there by businesses to trick teenage girls into thinking they have to believe in certain things to have that fairy tale life. All those films – they're so predictable. Boy meets girl, they like each other, something happens and they're apart but oh, by the end of the film everything's all bright and shiny and wonderful because they're in love. It makes me want to throw up."

"But what if you DID fall in love?" Gwen pressed her.

"I won't." The red-head assured them with a sharp nod of her head. "I've met enough men in my time to know that there are two types – the ones whose type I am and the ones who are my type. The ones whose type I am always turn out to be arrogant pigs who are after one thing and one thing only. When they get it they bugger off to wherever they came from. The ones who are my type wouldn't look at me twice."

Martha looked at her friend with pity evident in her eyes. "But surely you'd want to get married again one day?"

"Oh, stop it. No, I don't want to get married. I'm perfectly content to spend the rest of my life with the Doctor." She turned to River with a smirk. "Sorry, sweetheart, you're not getting rid of me. I'll just be the crazy old lady in the corner of the TARDIS who your little Time Babies call Auntie Donna."

They all burst out laughing, more fuelled by the amount of wine they'd drunk, than anything else and Gwen looked at her watch. She instructed them to drink up and they gathered bags and jackets and tipsily headed downstairs where they crowded into a people-carrier taxi. The driver was friendly, chatting to them cheerfully. When he dropped them off in the centre of the city Donna shot him a cheeky wink and he returned it, causing the others to hoot with laughter.

"I might not want to get married, but I can still have a little fun, can't I?" She reasoned with a shrug. "I'm not old yet."

"Alright, ladies? And Donna." Jack called as he, the Doctor, Rory and Mickey approached the group of women, waiting on the street corner.

Donna glared at him, but he just grinned and headed towards the club with Gwen and Rose. The others made their way after them, lining up outside while Jack laughed and joked with the bouncer who was a friend of his.

"River… watch out for Jack tonight." Rory warned his daughter, pulling her back slightly as the others filed inside jumping the queue and not being asked to pay. Sometimes being friends with Jack did have its bonuses.

"Oh, Dad, I can handle myself if Jack tries anything." She assured him, linking his arm and pressing a kiss to his cheek. "You just worry about Mum… she really can't handle her wine."

They laughed lightly and went inside, checking their coats before moving into the main room. Immediately River spotted Donna and Gwen at the bar and went to stand with them, ordering her drink. Seeing that she was safely surrounded, Rory headed after his wife, who seemed to be clinging to the Doctor to stop herself falling over. No sooner had he made his way through the crowd than Jack appeared at River's side and offered to pay for her drink.

Rolling their eyes, the other women moved away, leaving River and Jack alone.

"Don't even think about trying anything, Jack." River warned him seriously in a low voice, accepting the glass he offered her.

"Wouldn't dream of it." He assured her smoothly. "The Doctor would kill me if I attempted any such thing."

"Really?" She asked, trying not to look interested. "And why's that?"

Jack chuckled. "I don't need to spell it out, do I?" They both looked over to where the Doctor was enthusiastically dancing with Martha, totally oblivious to the curious and slightly concerned looks he was being sent by the people around him. As though he sensed they were watching him, the Doctor glanced over and immediately went pink, trying to cover up the fact he'd noticed them watching. "He's in love with you."

"Oh, I know that. And I love him, you idiot."

"So? Are you going to put the poor guy out of his misery?" Jack asked, looking as though he thought the Doctor deserved everything he got for being in love in the first place.

"Maybe…"

"Spoilers?" Jack asked, arching an eyebrow.

River chuckled. "No, it's just none of your business."

As she moved away to join the group on the dance floor, Jack leant against the bar watching them in amusement. Beside him, a rather rowdy group of young men were jostling for attention, trying to attract the barmaid's attention. She, in turn, was pointedly ignoring them and their rather unnecessary comments.

"Jade!" Jack called along the bar and the young women turned to look at him. As recognition registered in her eyes, she smiled and came over, leaning over the counter to give him a quick kiss. "Give these boys a drink and shut them up, yeah?"

She laughed and nodded, moving to serve the group of young men.

"Cheers, mate." The one nearest him said, slinging an arm around Jack's shoulders in a companionable way. "Here…" He put one of the masks the group were wearing over Jack's face and laughed. "Now you're an honouree member of Ieuan's stag night!"

"Ta." Jack chuckled, reaching up to unhook the elastic from around his ears. He was about to remove the mask when someone leant against him and the bar heavily. Turning to see who had caused the sudden warmth against his right side, Jack was highly amused to see it was a clearly very tipsy Donna who was trying to signal for another drink, while struggling to stay on her feet.

"What have you got to do for a drink around here?" She muttered as the barman completely overlooked her.

"I can make a few suggestions." Jack told her, disguising his American accent.

Slowly Donna turned and surveyed him, her eyes flicking from his masked face to the jacket he was wearing. The journey of her gaze up and down his body was slow and calculated and Jack was glad he wasn't wearing his usual outfit because it meant that Donna was less likely to recognise him. The effect of her outraged look was ruined by the drunken haze that surrounded her, causing her eyes to flicker unsteadily over him. With a snort, she turned away and leant on the bar once more.

"D'you know something, Mr Jedward? You remind me of someone I know… Captain Slack-jawed-idiot." She slurred angrily. For a moment Jack wondered why she'd called him Mr Jedward. Then he realised that it must be the mask he was wearing. With a groan he half-wished he had taken it off. "He thinks he's irresistible to women, too."

"Sounds like a great guy."

Donna glared at him. "No, he is not. He thinks he's hilarious; making his stupid little jokes at everyone else's expense. But really everyone's laughing at him, not with him. He's a prize prat and he's the only one who can't see it. And… AND… he's not even very good at what he does… he's only still alive because he has this… skill… it's not even an impressive one. I've seen better."

"Are you still talking about his skill?" Jack asked, smirking behind his mask. Then he realised that that question could also be misconstrued as an innuendo and smirked even more broadly, knowing how much that would wind Donna up. After what she'd just said about him she deserved to be annoyed as much as possible.

"Eurgh!" She snapped, smacking him on the arm in disgust. "See, you are just like him! Why the hell do I always attract the pervs and creeps and losers?" Then she considered his words for a moment. "Although I expect his… skill… is far from impressive as well."

Jack clenched his jaw in irritation. "Well if you didn't go round dressed like that, getting so drunk you can hardly stand up, you might not attract those sorts of people. And, for the record, I am NOT like that."

"Eurgh…" Donna muttered again, sending him a final glare and stalking unstably away to re-join her friends. She had given up on getting another drink; that was just a consequence of getting away from this horrible man, she decided.

Watching her leave, Jack was fuming. Donna clearly hadn't recognised him, at least he assumed she hadn't from the way she'd spoken, but how could she compare him to those sorts of men. He wasn't one of those pathetic men who letched over women. He was charming and complimentary and friendly, which was why women liked him.

Donna was clearly insane.


	5. Chapter 5

**Act 2, Scene 2 – "Any bar, any cross, any impediment will be medicinal to me."**

The next morning the Torchwood Three Hub was playing host to a group of very tired, very hungover people. The night before was definitely taking its toll and grumpily the Torchwood team and their guests were trying to get on with their day as usual, despite their rather debilitating shared illness. Donna and Jack were even more quarrelsome than normal; descending into a full-blown argument over who had left the fridge door open. The only people who seemed to not have been affected by the amount of alcohol they'd drunk were River and the Doctor who seemed blissfully happy and unaware of the atmosphere in the Hub.

Rolling her eyes with heightened irritation, Rose stamped off to the Tourist Centre, unable to cope with the sight of the two forceful personalities ripping chunks out of each other combined with River and the Doctor's flirting. The latter sight made the young blonde feel physically sick.

Several groups of people came in and out of the Centre, but Rose wasn't in the mood for being polite. She snappily responded to their questions, rolling her eyes and sighing audibly. Most left quickly, with some of the visitors muttering about rudeness and threatening to report her.

"Good luck." She snapped sarcastically at an irate middle-aged couple she'd insulted.

They had warned her to expect a complaint to be made to whoever was in charge of the Tourist Centre about her unprofessional and disrespectful manner. When the door closed with a loud bang, Rose sent a rude hand gesture in the direction of the exit and muttered a few choice observations about the couple under her breath.

"Wow, the hangover that bad, huh?" Mickey asked, grinning and walking through the door from the Hub with a mug of coffee in each hand. "I thought you might want some company."

"Mmm…" She muttered, accepting the coffee with a scowl.

Although she hadn't agreed to his assumption, Mickey sat on the stool behind the counter anyway and sipped his coffee. They sat in silence for a long time. Several visitors drifted in and out of the Tourist Centre and Mickey thought it was safer for him to deal with them than Rose. She watched sulkily as he answered their questions, helpfully pointing things out in leaflets and giving directions to various places within the city.

"Mickey…" Rose muttered, putting down her mug and looking at him carefully when they were alone once more. "The Doctor and River… d'you think it's serious?"

"You make it sound like a disease." Mickey chuckled. She glared at him, clearly thinking their relationship was indeed like a disease she'd like to cure. Mickey sighed. "I think you need to get over him, Rose. The Doctor's a different man now… he's moved on."

"No." She snapped. Then she looked hard into his face. There was a furious intensity burning in her eyes that alarmed him. "Seeing them together is going to kill me."

Mickey gulped, looking at her closely and seeing what she was about to ask him. He didn't need the answer to his question to know he was about to have to make a difficult decision. "Wh-what are you trying to ask me, sweetheart?"

"I need you to help me destroy them."

"No." He answered at once, shaking his head.

"If you ever loved me… really loved me… you would help me, Mickey." Rose told him, her face hard and determined. "We're still good mates, right? Mates help each other. I can't cope with them flaunting their relationship in my face. I wouldn't ask you if I didn't really need your help."

Uncomfortably Mickey shifted on his seat. On the one hand the idea of deliberately sabotaging River and the Doctor's relationship was horrific. After everything the Doctor had done for him, allowing him to stay in this universe for one thing, it felt like the most terrible betrayal. After all, the Doctor was indirectly responsible for Mickey meeting and marrying Martha. This thought, though, caused him to falter in his resolve. Rose was his oldest, closest friend and he would have done anything to secure her happiness. Added to that, he felt a terrible burden of guilt settling on him as he realised just how miserable she was being alone, while he was the complete opposite with his wife. Could he really let her be so unhappy when there was something he could do to help?

Finally Mickey sighed deeply and looked up at her. As their eyes met he nodded weakly and she smiled broadly.

"Thank you."

"So, what's the plan?" He asked, still internally fighting with himself.

Rose smirked. "It's simple. We're going to tamper with the CCTV footage. You're a genius when it comes to computers so I know you'll have no trouble managing it."

Mickey knew she was deliberately flattering him to get him to feel more relaxed about the whole thing. This knowledge had the opposite effect and made him even more uncomfortable, but still he couldn't refuse her. "Tamper it how?"

"We'll gather necessary video and audio clips to make it look as though River's been bad-mouthing the Doctor. We can find stuff which would make it seem as though she doesn't love him at all; she's just using him for something. I'll do what I can to uncover a possible reason… maybe she just wants to stay in the TARDIS or something… I don't know; that might be too simple. I think it'll have to be a better reason than that." She shrugged, thinking about motives. "Anyway, then you edit them all together and we show the Doctor. We can make it seem as though we're protecting him or something."

Briefly Mickey wondered at her vindictiveness, but then she smiled at him pleadingly. He sighed and nodded slowly, still wishing that he had the courage to say no.

"It'll destroy the Doctor. I don't even know what it would do to River."

She shrugged. "If we don't do it, it'll destroy me." There was a pause as she looked at him, trying to work out what Mickey was thinking. "So, will you help me?"

"Alright." He said reluctantly.

"Good… you stay here. I'm going to go and work out what we can use as the reason. I'll try and get her to say certain useful phrases as well. You can go through the footage archives and see if there's anything useful there." She suggested with a smile. Her words sounded more like an order than a suggestion, however, raising Mickey's discomfort even further.

As she headed through the door into the Hub, the young man closed his eyes and exhaled deeply. Silently he cursed his loyalty to the woman. He'd loved Rose, but she'd discarded him with no more thought than an old jumper that didn't fit anymore. Normally that would be enough of a reason for him to refuse to help.

But Mickey just couldn't say no.

"Hey?" Martha's voice broke through his thoughts and he opened his eyes quickly, turning to face her. She smiled, furrowing her brow slightly in confusion as she took in his expression. "Everything alright?"

"Yeah, babes, course." He agreed quickly, pulling her onto his lap and giving her a kiss.

Martha pulled away from him slight and examined his expression. Her own expression softened as she realised he was worried about something. "Listen, I know it must be odd, Rose being around…"

"Me and Rose are so over it's unreal." He assured his wife quickly, afraid that she would fret about his feelings. "You're the only girl for me, Dr Smith-Jones. D'you hear me?"

"I know." She promised him with a reassuring smile, leaning down and kissing him gently.


	6. Chapter 6

**Act 2, Scene 3 – "I will be horribly in love with her."**

Jack leant against the railings that lined the balcony corridor outside his office and watched Rose walk through the door and down the steps that led to the Vaults purposefully. He screwed up his face wondering why: a, she looked so cheerful for once and b, she seemed to be in such a hurry. As Martha headed out of the Hub the way the blonde had just entered, Jack made his way down the steps into the main part of the building thoughtfully.

"… so then the Doctor told him that I wasn't his woman." Donna was saying, obviously telling River and Amy a story about her travels with the Doctor. "I don't know why everyone thought we were a couple when we clearly weren't."

"Poor Doctor." Jack muttered. Donna turned to glare at him, immediately picking up on the insult.

"What?" She snapped.

Jack smiled. "Just… it must be annoying having to explain that you're not a couple all the time. I'd imagine it would get boring very quickly."

"Almost as boring as you." Donna agreed with a shrug.

"Haha, that's a good one. Shame you're wrong. Although I'd have thought you'd be used to that by now."

She raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Ha ha. You think so?"

"I know so." He countered with such a superior smile that it made Donna's blood boil.

Realising that they were about to descend into one of their slanging matches, the Doctor jumped in to stop them. He smiled warmly at his two friends, putting himself bodily between them and slinging an arm around each of their shoulders.

"Donna, can you do me a favour and check the power of the TARDIS. I'm hoping that with the elevated levels of rift energy at the moment because of the static storm that's predicted, we'll be able to leave sooner than I predicted." He told her quickly, using the hand around Jack's shoulders to prod her nose gently and, as a consequence, pushing their faces into close proximity.

"Jeeze, Doctor!" Jack protested, pulling backwards as Donna's face came quickly towards him.

The red-head, too, complained, pushing them away hastily. "Seriously, spaceman, don't do that!" Then she straightened her top and took a breath. "I've got everything crossed that you're right on this new theory. Anything to get away from Captain Haystack over there…"

"Feeling's mutual, sweetheart!" Jack called after her as she stalked through the door to the Tourist Centre, sending him a rude gesture over her shoulder as she went.

Jack chuckled and glanced at his watch. "Right, I've got to pop out… I'll be half an hour, max." He told them with a nod. "Don't do anything stupid."

The second the paving slab lift had carried Jack out of sight, Gwen went to fetch Mickey and Martha from the Tourist Centre and the group assembled in the board room.

"Right, you remember what I was telling you about yesterday?" River said, as though she was chairing an official meeting. "You know, about how Jack and Donna are perfect for each other but they're the only ones who can't see it?"

"Yeah." Her mother agreed with a nod. "But what are we gonna do about it?"

River grinned and leant forwards, placing the palms of both her hands flat on the table. She looked at each of them in turn. "I've got a plan."

"Are you going to tell us what it is?" The Doctor asked when she didn't immediately elaborate, smirking at her. River laughed.

"Well… we know that Donna and Jack are far too proud to be affected by us simply telling them that the other loves them–"

"They'd probably laugh us out of the Hub." Gwen added. "I think their cynicism about love is the only thing they have ever agreed on."

"Exactly. So we need a way of telling them without them realising what we're trying to do. I doubt either of them would appreciate it if they thought we were matchmaking."

"You mean like… if they overheard us talking about them or something?" Gwen asked, interestedly. "If they didn't realise we knew they could hear?"

"That's precisely what I was thinking."

"That's genius!" Martha laughed excitedly. "And it might just work."

"OK…" The Doctor now took charge, falling into his usual position as leader and clapping his hands in eager anticipation. "Rory and River, you come with me to the TARDIS and somehow we'll get Jack to come on some kind of… I don't know… maybe he could need something from the console room… oh, we'll figure that one out later. The rest of you keep Donna out of the way for a while. We'll tackle her afterwards."

Nodding in agreement, they split up, going about their own business. The trio headed up to the surface and went into the police box, waiting for the signal from the Hub that Jack was on his way. They discussed the best approach and finally settled on River having spoken to Donna and been confided in about her little problem.

After half an hour or so, Rory's phone beeped, signalling a text message from his wife alerting them to the fact that Jack was on his way. With deep breaths, they prepared themselves for their deception.

As soon as Jack had returned from running his little errand, he bumped into Donna; literally. The stack of manila envelopes she'd been carrying tumbled from her arms to the ground. She curled her lip at him in annoyance and narrowed her eyes. Before they could fall into their usual routine of insult and counter-insult, Amy and Gwen swept forwards and began scooping up the paperwork. As the brunette steered Donna quickly away, the younger red-head asked Jack to pop up to the TARDIS on the surface and ask the trio in the police box to come down.

Almost reluctantly he agreed, stepped onto the paving slab with the perception filter wired in and rose slowly through the air. He was slightly distracted as he crossed Roald Dhal Plass towards the TARDIS, but this distraction vanished abruptly as he pushed the door open. The console room was empty, which was odd in itself.

Heading through the door which led onto a corridor connecting all the other rooms in the spaceship, Jack was suddenly aware of voices, although he had no idea where they were coming from. It was as though the TARDIS was playing the sound of the conversation between the Doctor, River and Rory over the speakers deliberately.

"She was quite drunk last night." Rory was saying.

There was a familiar chuckle, which Jack recognised as River. "Yes, Donna was very drunk. But she told me before that. It was yesterday afternoon while we were in the Tourist Centre. If you ask me that's WHY she got so drunk."

Jack furrowed his brow, looking around him. There were no doors on this stretch of the corridor and, although he tried calling out, there was no response from anywhere. He was also quite curious about the conversation he could hear.

"What?" The Doctor asked, sounding as confusion by the conversation as Jack was by his current location.

River sighed. "Sweetie, I think Donna was so upset over her feelings for Jack that she wanted to get horribly drunk so she'd forget about them. I mean, let's face it… thinking that you're love with Captain Jack Harkness is enough to make anyone want to get drunk and pass out."

In the corridor, Jack gasped. Shocked by what he'd just heard, he leant heavily against the corridor wall, his desire to discover where the others were vanishing at once. The conversation was far too interesting now to miss.

"He's not that bad." The Doctor defended his friend. In the corridor, the man in question nodded in approval, grateful that someone was sticking up for him. "Well, OK, maybe he is."

"Thanks, Doctor." Jack muttered.

"But… what exactly did she say?" Rory asked. "I don't understand… Donna in love? That's… that's not…"

"I know, Dad. I didn't think it was possible either but… She seemed really down. You know what Donna's like; she doesn't think Captain Jack Harkness would ever look twice at her. I think she's the only person who doesn't see how amazing she is."

"Well, her and Jack." The Doctor chipped in.

"Yeah, not helpful, Doctor." Rory told him.

"I know exactly how amazing Donna is." Jack muttered, staring around the doorless corridor. "She saved Earth from the Daleks, I was there. Hang on… why am I admitting that, even to myself?"

"Why doesn't she just tell him she loves him?" The Doctor asked. Both his companions started laughing at this suggestion, causing the Time Lord to utter a very indignant, "What?"

"You have no idea, do you?" River asked, still chuckling. "Donna could never admit how she feels to Jack. He'd laugh himself stupid, wouldn't he? You know what Jack's like, especially with Donna. He's so insensitive. She'd never hear the end of it."

Jack frowned in annoyance, offended by their assumptions. He wasn't that bad. Besides, Donna gave as good as she got. He had always assumed that she enjoyed their arguments as much as he did. And he really did enjoy their arguments. Maybe too much.

"Well, can't we just tell him?" The Doctor asked. "Then Jack would know and–"

"Don't be ridiculous, sweetie. Jack would still make Donna's life a misery. It's not the fact that it would be bad if she told him, it would be bad if anyone told him. It's just how Jack is."

"Surely Jack would… oh, I don't know… see sense and realise how lucky he'd be to have Donna?"

"Don't count on it, honey." River told him with a sigh. "I think we should just try and distract her somehow instead… if you give me the psychic paper I'll take her to a few Hollywood parties. That'll soon take her mind off Captain Jack Harkness."

"I'm not sure that's such a good idea…" The Doctor said in an odd voice.

"Why? You don't think I'd run off with Johnny Depp or anything, do you?" She asked, amusement clear in her voice. "Why would I want a gorgeous man like him when I've got you around, sweetie?"

"Right…" Rory muttered and Jack could imagine the expression on his face. "I think we'd better head back to the Hub. It's nearly dinner time and Amy mentioned pizza."

Jumping into action, Jack rushed back the way he'd come, finding himself in the console room. In seconds he was outside the TARDIS hovering outside the slightly ajar door and trying to look casual. As soon as he heard footsteps and voices in the console room he pushed the doors open and went inside.

"Oh, hey, Amy sent me to come and get you… a while ago, actually. I got a little side-tracked out there…" He motioned wildly behind him at nothing in particular, desperately hoping he was doing a better job of seeming calm than he thought. "You three OK?"

"Absolutely perfect." River told him with a smile, grabbing hold of the Doctor's hand and moving past Jack towards the Hub.

Narrowing his eyes slightly, Jack followed them onto the paving slab and they descended slowly. As soon as they touched down in the Hub, Jack excused himself and went up to his office, closing the door firmly behind him. The second he was alone in the room, he let out a long, low exhalation of breath and closed his eyes.

What he'd heard on the TARDIS had to be true. The Doctor, River and Rory had no idea that he'd been there or overheard anything. And anyway, why would they make something like that up? Jack sat in his chair behind his desk, swivelling it slowly as he thought. And the more he thought, the more he came to the conclusion that perhaps the reason Donna made him so frustrated was because he thought he couldn't have her.

She acted so self-assured, so passionate, so confident that he'd always taken it for granted that she wouldn't look twice at him. Now, it seemed, she had been thinking the same thing all along. Ever since he'd first laid eyes on her – her face appearing alongside the Doctor's on his computer screen as they discussed what to do about the Dalek Crucible – he'd thought she was the most beautiful woman he'd ever met. Now, he decided that it was his duty to make her realise just how much she meant to him, as well as the rest of the Universe.

With a grin, he turned on his computer and started looking through the surveillance footage that had been taken in the Hub over the last couple of days. Jack was watching a video of Gwen and Donna messing about in the kitchen, singing and dancing along to the song that was playing on the radio, when the door to his office flew open and the woman herself was framed in the gap.

"Oi, Captain Yak-features, they've sent me to tell you pizza will be here in ten." She snapped.

Panicking at the thought of her catching him watching the video of her singing and dancing, Jack turned the monitor off abruptly and sat up straighter in his chair. He smiled broadly at Donna and stood up.

"Thanks, Donna."

She made a noncommittal noise in her throat and shrugged, her eyes on the computer. "What were you...? On second thoughts, I really don't want to know what you were looking at on the computer. It's too disgusting. Just… if you want pizza come down if not, stay here."

"Thanks." He repeated, causing her to look slightly confused.

"Yeah, whatever." Donna shrugged. "Doesn't bother me either way."

With a final growl of annoyance, the red-head turned and stamped out of the office and down the stairs. Jack stood up to follow her, smiling broadly as he did so. Donna so wanted him.


	7. Chapter 7

**Act 3, Scene 1 – "Taming my wild heart to thy loving hand."**

"Oh… Donna, be a doll and grab my bag from the Tourist Centre." Amy pleaded, sending the older woman a wide-eyed look. They had just come back from another shopping trip and were all exhausted. "I'll make you tea?"

Sighing, Donna couldn't help a smile creeping over her face. "Alright, but only because I'm in a good mood. Captain Throwback's not here and all is right with the world."

They laughed as she grinned and headed back the way they'd just come, ducking through the circular door to the shack where Rory and Mickey were manning the desk. Rolling her eyes, she pointed out the shopping bags that Amy had left in the middle of the floor and laughed at Rory's comment about his wife being lucky her head was attached to her body. After asking whether either of them wanted a drink, which they both refused, she headed back towards the door and the steps leading down into the ground.

Back in the Hub, Donna was slightly confused to find the main floor completely deserted. Leaning over the railings, she checked the medical bay, but Martha was nowhere to be seen. The kitchen was empty as well. With a sigh, she started up the stairs, wondering whether they'd gone into one of the small rooms that ran along the balcony corridor.

"Jack said what?" Donna heard Martha's shocked voice as she approached the boardroom. Assuming that she was about to hear something that she could use against the man, Donna reached for the door handle with a broad smirk on her face.

"He loves Donna."

A strange, strangled cry escaped the red-head's mouth at Gwen's words and she clamped a hand over her mouth. When there was no hint that the women inside the room had heard the noise, so Donna crept closer to the door, listening intently.

"No way…" Amy breathed. "You're kidding?"

"Nope."

"What did he say, though?" Martha pressed. "Are you sure you didn't get the wrong end of the stick? I can't imagine Jack confessing to anything like that."

"No… I think, 'Gwen, I'm in love with Donna Noble', is pretty difficult to misinterpret." The Welsh woman told them, an edge of amusement in her voice. Donna barely managed to hold back her gasp of surprise and leant heavily against the wall behind her.

"We should tell her." Martha said at once.

"We shouldn't." River argued quickly. "You know how Donna feels about all that stuff… she'd laugh him back to the twentieth century… if not further."

Raising an eyebrow Donna shook her head and smirked. There was absolutely no way this conversation was real. They obviously knew that she was outside and were trying to wind her up. River's suggestion that she'd find it hilarious was quite right. The idea that Captain Jack Harkness could possibly be in love with her was just preposterous. The only person that Captain Jack Harkness was in love with was himself.

Nevertheless Donna found that she couldn't bring herself to move and destroy the moment. She wanted to hear what else the four women in the room were going to say; especially if it was about her and Jack.

"Do you really think so? Don't you think it might… mellow her a bit?" Amy suggested.

"Would you honestly want to take that risk?" Gwen asked them. "Seriously? Remember what she was saying the other night. Love? Donna? I don't think so."

"Gwen's right. You heard Donna; how love's just a myth and how she never wants to fall in love again." River agreed.

"After everything she's been through it's sort of understandable though, right?" Amy reasoned.

"Yeah." Martha agreed. "I mean, that Lance guy was going to feed her to a giant spider and then Sean cheated on her and took most of their money and the house. She hasn't exactly had the best of luck with men, has she?"

"That's all the more reason for her to take her anger out on Jack. If he suddenly tells her that he's in love with her, Donna's going to freak out; she's far too proud and far too damaged to accept it." Gwen said.

Outside in the corridor, Donna narrowed her eyes. What right did Gwen or any of them in that room have to decide what she would think or feel? How dare they decide that she was too proud and too damaged to accept that someone, even if it was Jack, might be in love with her? She had half a mind to storm in there and demand to know what they thought they were doing, talking about her behind her back. She was also tempted to accept Jack and his… love… just to spite them; but that was too cruel, even for her, so she wouldn't be doing that. Then the conversation picked up again and Donna stopped ranting inside her head to listen.

"I still think we should tell her." Martha sighed. "I mean, Donna needs someone; everyone needs someone. Even if Donna refuses to admit that she does. Maybe if she knew that Jack was in love with her she'd accept it. I mean, whatever she says I bet she'd be so happy if she could fall in love and get married and have a family."

There was a loud snort of amusement, which the red-head identified as coming from River. "Donna? Need someone? Donna Noble doesn't need anyone. She's more likely to push him away than decide to embrace him. Not even Jack deserves all the abuse he'd get if he tried to admit his feelings to Donna."

Now she was really angry. Balling her hands into fists, Donna glared furiously at the board room door, itching to go in and tell them exactly what she thought of them. But then they would know she had overheard their conversation and they would know that she knew that Jack… Jack… Jack loved her. The woman decided that she couldn't bear that.

And at once Donna felt herself softening towards Jack. Jack, with his stupid American accent. Jack, with his ridiculous dress sense. Jack, with his intense stare, which seemed to look straight through her and into her soul. She shivered, picturing Jack's face in her mind. Against her will she realised that she was smiling as she thought about him. Maybe the intense anger she felt whenever he was around wasn't actually anger at all. Maybe it was a completely different emotion all together. She never felt more alive than when she and Jack were arguing; ripping chunks out of each other with their words. It would be easy, so easy, for all that passion to be transferred into a different emotion altogether.

With a gasp, Donna covered her mouth again as the truth hit her like a tonne of bricks. She, Donna Noble, was head over heels, completely and utterly, deeply in love with Captain Jack Harkness.

"I think we should keep this to ourselves." Gwen said, breaking the spell Donna was under. "I think it's better for both of them if they never find out about this."

"Are you sure?" Martha asked, slowly.

"I am. It's better for Jack to be miserable than for him to be ripped apart by Donna if she found out."

There was a loud sigh from inside the room and then Amy spoke, concluding the conversation. "Fine… we won't say anything to Donna. Now, where are we going for dinner because I, for one, am starving!"

At her words all the women in the board room started to laugh and Donna heard the sound of chairs scraping on the floor. Worried that they would catch her standing in the corridor, she ducked through the next door, pushing it firmly closed behind her with a soft click. Turning, she realised that she was in Jack's office.

Not really knowing what she was doing, Donna moved around the desk, trailing her hand over the objects strewn across its surface and sat in the chair behind it. She swivelled the seat slowly, chewing her bottom lip, deep in thought. Absentmindedly she pressed the button on the computer's monitor and the picture flickered into life. Donna was taken aback by the picture on the desktop; a still taken from the CCTV footage which showed her laughing. The image had been cropped from a larger picture and enlarged. Trying to decide whether it was sweet or creepy, the woman settled on sweet and smiled, switching the monitor off.

Maybe they were right; maybe he was in love with her.

And if he was, then it would only be polite for Donna to make sure that she was in love with him, too.


	8. Chapter 8

**Act 3, Scene 3 – "Well, everyone can master a grief but he that has it."**

The Weevil they'd been tracking through the outskirts of Cardiff had been safely subdued and loaded into the back of the SUV. It wasn't an ideal situation, but Jack hadn't really been thinking straight when he'd ordered them all into the car, rather than one of the vans. Now he, River, Rory and the Doctor were speeding through the streets back towards the Hub. In the driver's seat, Jack was gripping the steering wheel so tightly that his knuckles were going white. When it was time for him to change gear, he could barely uncurl his fingers from around the wheel to move the gear stick.

"There's definitely something wrong with Jack." River pointed out, a smug smirk on her face as she surveyed him in the mirror. His eyes, which were all she could see, flickered in her direction and she held his gaze in the reflective surface. "He's not himself."

"River's right…" The Doctor agreed with a nod. "You are very quiet, Jack."

"I'm fine… bit of a headache, that's all."

In the passenger seat to his left, the Doctor turned to look meaningfully at River and Rory sitting behind them. He raised his eyebrows and grinned with the air of someone who is incredibly pleased with themselves.

"No… it's your heart that's aching, not your head." River told him with a knowing smile.

Jack's grip on the steering wheel tightened even more. "Ha!" He laughed cynically. "Yeah, right."

"No, it's the only explanation." River continued, much to his annoyance. "You're quieter than normal, you're incredibly distracted and, I think if I mentioned a certain red-head you might just crash this car."

"You're wrong." Jack told her firmly, trying to shrug casually. His eyes, however, were so firmly fixed on the road ahead that he missed the hurried, silent exchange between River and the Doctor. She was trying to encourage him to take over the teasing but the Doctor was just staring blankly at her, totally bemused by her actions.

"Anyway, even if he was in love with D– with whoever it is you think he's in love with, then he'd be crazy." Rory muttered as his daughter prodded him hard in the side, forcing him to join in with the conversation.

"Why?" The Doctor asked, confusion evident in his tone.

"Because… well, she's not exactly the easiest person to be in love with." He said, adding a quick afterthought. "I'd imagine."

River chuckled. "Something you need to tell us, Dad?"

"No, no, of course not! Your mother is enough for me."

"I suppose you're right, Rory… she is quite… loud... opinionated… self-assured." The Doctor agreed slowly.

"There's nothing wrong with that." Jack muttered, furrowing his brow slightly. "You're not so shy yourself, Doctor."

River smirked with satisfaction in the back seat. As far as she was concerned that comment confirmed that their plan had been completely successful.

As soon as Jack parked the SUV in the garage that Torchwood used as a lock-up, he was out and opening the doors to remove the captured Weevil. River slid out and moved to help him. He reluctantly accepted her assistance, not looking particularly as though he wanted to be in close proximity to her after her teasing on the journey.

Once the Weevil was secured in one of the vaults, Jack stalked up to his office and shut himself away. River, however, was on alert as always and notice a prolonged moment of eye-contact between the man and Donna as he put his hands on her waist and moved her aside so that he could get to the stairs. The lack of the red-head's usual shriek of, 'oi, hands!' was very telling indeed. Excitedly, River rushed off to inform the others of this latest development.

Without warning, the Doctor realised that he was alone in the Hub. He looked around him, his face falling at the realisation and he wandered towards the medical bay in the hope that Martha might be there, hiding out of sight.

"Doctor?"

The Time Lord whirled around delighted at the prospect of company. "Mickey!"

"Listen… I… I've got something to show you."

"Oooh! That sounds ominous." The Doctor muttered, not looking in the least bit worried. "What is it?"

Mickey hesitated. "Look… I'm not sure if I should–"

"Nonsense! It's obviously something incredibly important or you wouldn't have thought about showing me in the first place. And in that case it's imperative that you show me… whatever it is that you wanted to show me."

Looking around quickly, Mickey caught Rose's eye on the balcony corridor above them and sighed. She smiled and turned, heading into one of the small rooms that overlooked the main part of the Hub. "Yeah… right."

He led the Doctor over to the main computer terminal and opened a video file. The Doctor was intrigued and leant forwards, eagerly anticipating some alien correspondence or the like. As the video began to play, Mickey backed away, leaning against the pillar behind him and chewing his thumbnail, completely regretting his decision.

"That's River!" The Doctor announced unnecessarily, jabbing a finger at the screen. "Why are you showing me River?"

"Just watch, Doctor." Mickey told him quietly.

"So?" Gwen's voice came through the speakers, although she wasn't visible on the screen. "You and the Doctor?"

"Oh, don't… I don't want to talk about that."

"What?"

"The Doctor." River sighed loudly. "He's just so… ridiculous."

"I don't understand?" Gwen continued, still unseen.

"What do you mean?" Martha asked, also not appearing in the picture.

The River on the screen stood up and started pacing backwards and forwards across the boardroom. "I always dreamt of a way out of Stormcage. This is the obvious way out."

"So… it's not real?"

"Real? No, it isn't real. This is just a very good imitation."

"Love?" Gwen asked.

River snorted with laughter. "Love's just a myth."

"I don't believe that." Martha argued. "Everyone needs someone."

"Need someone?" River asked, amusement clear in her voice. "No. There are lots of different theories. You have yours, I have mine. River Song… doesn't need anyone."

"What about the Doctor?"

"I've got a plan."

There was a long exhalation of breath before Gwen asked. "And that is?"

River laughed. "It doesn't matter. It's a complicated series of events."

There was a long pause. On the screen River settled herself in a chair and swivelled it slowly, folding her arms and smirking at whoever was just out of shot.

"Who fancies a cuppa?" Gwen asked suddenly, clearly signalling that she'd had enough of the conversation.

Mickey leant forward and switched off the monitor. It wasn't his best work, he had to admit. But he hadn't had the heart to put in too much effort, knowing what the clip was going to be used for. If the Doctor had used the Sonic Screwdriver to analyse the footage he'd have noticed it had been edited at once. In fact, just watching it Mickey thought it was obvious that the words had been mixed together from lots of different conversations. Some of it didn't even really make total sense. All in all, it had been a completely half-hearted effort.

The Doctor, however, was sitting numbly in the chair, staring at the now black screen in front of him. His hands were flat on the surface of the desk, but Mickey thought he could detect a slight tremor in them as the Time Lord tried to stay under control.

"Doctor…?"

"I need a moment, Mickey." He said, standing up and looked around him with a slightly dazed expression on his face. "I'm just… popping to the TARDIS."


	9. Chapter 9

**Act 3, Scene 4 – "Is it possible that any villainy should be so dear?"**

"Can I get you a drink?" Rose asked, smiling brightly at River, who was sitting at one of the desks and tapping purposefully at the computer keyboard in front of her.

At the younger blonde's words, River looked up quickly, a flicker of surprise crossing her face as she realised that her ears hadn't been deceiving her. "Oh, thank you. But don't go to any trouble."

"Don't worry; I was going to make a cuppa for myself anyway. Tea?"

"Mmm… thanks."

Turning in her seat, River sent a questioning look in her mother's direction. Amy shrugged and in turn shot a look at Gwen, who looked equally bemused by the turn of events. They were all thinking the same thing; why was Rose suddenly being so nice to River?

"Right… well that was weird." Amy muttered as soon as Rose was safely in the kitchen. "Where's the Doctor? I haven't seen him since you got back from Weevil Hunt."

"I don't know… I came to tell you about the latest Jack and Donna development and then he was gone." River replied with a shrug. "He's probably tinkering with the TARDIS; you know what he's like. He'll take any chance to play with his toys."

"Amy, can you come and help me with… cataloguing…" Gwen asked quickly, standing up and nodding her head towards the steps to the vault, widening her eyes meaningfully.

Understanding that the Welsh woman wanted to talk to her about something in private, Amy nodded and hastily followed her down the steps. River shook her head and shrugged as they left, returning her attention to the screen in front of her.

Down in the vaults, Gwen glanced over her shoulder, before going into one and sitting on the ledge that ran along the wall. Reluctantly the younger woman followed, looking disgustedly around at her surroundings. In the cell opposite, a Weevil leapt towards the door, banging on it furiously. Amy flinched and leant backwards, even further away from the creature, but Gwen barely registered the movement being so used to the Weevils that their movements no longer affected her at all.

"There's something wrong." She muttered to the younger woman in a low voice. "Why is Rose suddenly being so nice to River?"

The red-head nodded. "I was thinking that. Yesterday she was sending River such dirty looks I was so tempted to slap her into next week. Even this morning she was making bitchy comments about her. So what's changed between breakfast and now?"

"Mmmm… that's the question. What could possibly have happened to make Rose suddenly decide she wants to be River's best friend?" Gwen asked thoughtfully. They sat for a couple of moments, thinking about possible causes. The ones that seemed most likely were the most extreme; 'Rose' was actually a shape shifter and not herself at all, or perhaps she had been possessed by an alien entity when they weren't looking.

Before either of them could express these ideas to the other, they heard the sound of two pairs of feet on the stone steps as someone – or rather two someones – entered the vaults. Neither of the people spoke, however, so the two women in the cell exchanged a curious look. Gwen was about to stand up and move to the door to see who it was, when one of them spoke.

"So, Mickey?" Rose asked, clearly holding back a laugh as she spoke. "How did it go?"

There was a sigh and then a pause. "I showed him the faked video. Well done, he thinks River's lying to him about her feelings."

Amy gasped, but Gwen covered her mouth quickly, listening intently. She crept forwards slightly so that she could see the pair in the corridor. Rose had her back to them, but she could clearly see the expression on Mickey's face. He looked far from happy, keeping his gaze on the ground rather than having to look up at the blonde woman in front of him. Rose reached out to touch his arm, but he shrugged her off, folding his arms over his chest almost defensively.

"Good." Rose nodded, apparently slightly taken aback by his reaction to her. "How did he take it?"

Mickey snorted as though he couldn't believe she'd actually asked that. "How d'you think he took it?"

"I don't know! It's kind of difficult to predict the Doctor." Rose replied shortly.

"Well he was heartbroken, Rose." Mickey told her, his eyes snapping to her face and narrowing in annoyance. He looked at her in disgust and shook his head. "I hope you're happy."

He stamped away up the stairs, leaving Rose standing motionless in the middle of the corridor. Gwen and Amy glanced at each other. There was a split second where nothing happened at all and then, as though racing to be the first to get to the woman, they both rushed for the cell door.

Rose jumped and gasped loudly as she heard the movement in the cell and whirled round in horror, realising at once that the conversation must have been overheard. The two women who emerged from the cell glared furiously at her, both folding their arms and very obviously waiting for some kind of explanation about what they'd just heard.

"What?" The blonde demanded stonily, standing her ground.

Gwen took a step forward, looking her up and down and speaking in a low, deliberate voice that clearly said she wasn't in the mood for messing around. "I think you might want to explain exactly what's going on around here. Because right now I'm thinking that you've deliberately sabotaged River and the Doctor's relationship."

"I really hope you haven't, because I won't be very happy." Amy warned her threateningly, narrowing her eyes.

"So what if I have?" Rose demanded with a shrug. "All I've done is help the Doctor realise that she's not the woman for him."

"He didn't need help to realise that because it's not true!" Amy snapped at her angrily.

"Yeah? Well obviously the Doctor doesn't think so. It wouldn't have been so easy to persuade him if there was no chance he would believe it. He must have been having some doubts about River before."

"How did you do it, eh?" Amy demanded, resolutely refusing to believe what Rose was trying to convince her. "How did you trick him?"

"I got Mickey to edit clips of different conversations from the Hub's CCTV to make it sound like River was confessing that she was just using the Doctor. It worked a treat. You helped, Gwen." She smirked.

Gwen looked horrified. "That's… horrible!"

"It worked though."

"Not for long. We'll just go and tell the Doctor what you've done." Amy told her, moving to push past the blonde and head up the stairs to the main part of the Hub.

Rose smiled and shook her head, grabbing the red-head's arm and pulling her back. "No, you won't."

Before the other women could react, Rose shoved them roughly into the cell and slammed the door closed behind them. It was only possible to open it from the inside and Gwen and Amy realised at the same moment that they were locked in. Angrily they began to batter on the glass, screaming threats and insults and demanding to be released.

"I don't think so, sorry." Rose told them with a shrug and a fake apologetic expression. As she made her way towards the stairs, she took a moment to reach up and reposition the camera so that it was trained too far to the right to pick up the two women in their cell. "Don't worry… I'm sure someone will be down at some point to let you out."


	10. Chapter 10

**Act 3, Scene 5 – "How you may be converted I know not, but methinks you look with your eyes as other women do."**

"I've heard that it's very good!" Donna enthused, smiling broadly at the elderly lady who had been questioning her very closely about the current musical that was being performed in the Millennium Centre. From the way the old woman was firing questions at her, it seemed as though she was under the misguided impression that Donna had written, choreographed, composed and starred in the show single-handed. In reality, the red-head was simply reading information off the leaflet concealed beneath the desk.

When she was finally satisfied with the answers Donna had given her, the old lady smiled, put a two pound coin on the desk and wandered out, clutching a handful of leaflets. Holding up the money Donna rolled her eyes and smirked at River, before slipping the coin into her pocket. Then she leant back so that her head was resting against the wall and only two legs of her stool on the floor. She rocked the stool slightly, deep in thought.

"So… what's new?" River asked, arching an eyebrow at her friend.

Donna shrugged, keeping her face expressionless. "Nothing… just got a bit of a headache, that's all."

The archaeologist's eyes glinted with amusement, remembering that Jack had used that same excuse for being so quiet only a matter of an hour or two earlier. It seemed that not only were the pair perfect for each other, they were also much more alike than they'd previously been given credit for. River began searching in the drawers of the desk, much to Donna's confusion, eventually pulling out a packet of Nurofen and offering them to the red-head.

"Thanks…" Donna muttered quietly, accepting the pills and taking a couple quickly.

"Right, now you have no excuse for not being yourself." River told her with a smirk. "So, come on, what's really going on? You can't hide anything from me, Donna Noble. I know you too well."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Her friend laughed and shook her head. "Of course you do."

"I really don't." Donna snapped, folding her arms defensively across her chest and glaring at her. "If you can't talk about something sensible… shut up."

River didn't even bother to conceal her grin as she looked Donna up and down in amusement. The red-head was trying desperately to avoid her gaze, not wanting to look at River because she got the strange feeling that the archaeologist could see into her mind. It was unnerving.

"I've always wanted to see this…" Donna muttered after a couple of minutes of silence, opening one of the leaflets laid out on the surface in front of her. "My friend Veena went about three years ago when it was in the West End. She said it was amazing… I wonder if we've got time to go and see it before we leave…"

"Maybe Jack could take you?" River suggested with a sly grin.

"What?" Donna snapped, glaring at her. "Why would I agree to go anywhere with that… person?"

"I don't know… I just assumed your view of him had changed recently. I mean, you haven't been arguing as much over the last day or so…"

Mentally Donna made a note to deliberately pick a fight with Jack, just to get the others off her back. Then she sniffed and shrugged. "He's been staying out of my way, I guess."

"Yeah, alright…"

"What?"

"Nothing."

Narrowing her eyes, Donna made a disgruntled sound in her throat and stood up, moving to tidy up the already spotless Tourist Office. She briefly wondered why it was ever busy in there; it was so out of the way, hidden away in the bay, and yet people still seemed to find it. It was almost as though they came in just to ask stupid questions and annoy her.

"Hey, River… haven't you got a date with the Doctor or something?" Martha asked, appearing through the door from the Hub and smirking at her. Donna muttered cynically under her breath. "Where is he, anyway?"

"Probably on the TARDIS."

"You wanna watch out, River." Donna warned with a smirk. "You'll have to fight with his beloved police box to be the most important woman in the Doctor's life."

"You're the lucky one, then." She countered, glancing at Martha and arching an eyebrow.

"How d'you work that one out?"

"Jack doesn't have a TARDIS…"

Turning quickly and managing to knock over a stand of leaflets as she did so, Donna rounded on the two women angrily. "I don't know where you've got this stupid idea that there's something going on between me and Jack. If he was the last man in the Universe – including all species that aren't even compatible with humans – I wouldn't look twice at him. He's just so… so…"

"Good-looking?" Martha supplied, unable to supress her grin.

"Charming?"

"Interesting?"

"Intriguing?"

"Annoying." Donna cut in, stopping the two women from thinking up any more compliments for Jack. "Infuriating, irritating, frustrating… basically a downright pain in the arse."

"But you love him anyway."

"I do NOT love him!" Donna exploded, her eyes flashing dangerously. "I have no idea where you're getting your information from, but you need a new informant 'cos yours has clearly lost the plot."

"If you insist."

"I do bloody insist."

"I'm telling you now, I don't know why, but you've definitely changed your opinion about Jack." Donna was so incensed by River's words that she couldn't manage more than a furious squeak. "You've finally realised that he's not as bad as he seems. In fact, I'd go as far as to say–"

"Alright, alright!" Martha said with a grin, holding up her hands as Donna looked as though she was about to combust. River smirked triumphantly and winked at Martha. The younger woman headed towards the door out of the Tourist Centre. "Listen, I'm going for pizza. Donna, why don't you come with me… get some air?"

"I don't need–" The red-head started. Then she noticed the twinkle in River's eye and realised that her friend clearly wasn't finished with her. Donna also realised that she would probably end up punching the woman if she heard any more from her. She nodded and followed Martha into the fresh, early evening air. "OK."


	11. Chapter 11

**Act 3, Scene 6 – "a couple of as arrant knaves as any" **

"Martha's gone to order the pizzas." Jack told Rory, leaning over the balcony and calling down to him. "She's waiting for us to ring her with our order. Can you see if you can find Gwen and Amy… they seem to have vanished."

Rory sighed and rolled his eyes. "What's new? Amy's always vanishing."

As Jack laughed, Rory made his way down the steps towards the vaults. He poked his head around the corner but saw no one in the corridor between the cells, so turned and headed through the winding tunnels to the storage rooms and the shooting range beneath the Hub.

Wandering to the shooting range, Rory reached out with his hand and touched one of the guns laid out on the table. As though thinking better of it, he retracted his hand without picking it up and turned. The range was completely empty and he would need to look somewhere else for his wife and the Welsh woman.

After making his way into every room in the lower level of the Hub and finding no sign of either woman, Rory decided that they must have popped out. Making his way back up to the main level, he passed through the vaults.

At the sound of footsteps outside the cell for the second time, Amy leapt to her feet and moved to the door. She banged on it loudly, calling out to whoever was outside.

"Oh, thank god." She muttered as her husband's bemused face popped into view, looking surprised to see them locked in. "Let us out!"

"Umm… why…?" Rory asked, motioning at the two women locked inside the cell. "Or should I not…"

"Rose locked us in." Gwen muttered, rolling her eyes at the expression on his face.

"Again… why?"

"She and Mickey came up with a plan to break up River and the Doctor. I think it was more her than him… he didn't seem at all happy."

"How?"

"Does he always talk in one word sentences?" Gwen asked, amused by the total bewilderment that was still evident on Rory's face.

"Right, sorry… but… how exactly did they plan to break them up?"

"There was… there was a video." Amy explained quickly, trying to keep calm and get the words out. "Rose persuaded Mickey to mix different clips together to make a video that would make it sound as though River didn't actually love him and was just using him to try and… I don't know… have adventures or something?"

"Have you seen it? The video, I mean."

Gwen shook her head. "No… we overheard their conversation. Then Rose realised we were here and locked us in. We've been down here for hours waiting for someone to realise and let us out!"

"Right, OK… sorry." Rory apologised, incredibly flustered by the situation and the accusatory expression on the brunette's face, as though it was personally Rory's fault they'd been locked up for so long. "We need to… tell River. And the Doctor."

"Where are they?" Gwen asked as they headed towards the steps hastily.

"In the boardroom with everyone else waiting for Martha and Donna to come back with the pizzas."

"Together?" Amy asked and they exchanged a look nervously, realising how explosive the fireworks could be if the Doctor decided to bring up the video in public. "Oh, god…"


	12. Chapter 12

**Act 4, Scene 1 – "For thee I'll lock up all the gates of Love, and on my eyelids shall conjuncture hang to turn all beauty into thoughts of harm and never shall it be more gracious."**

"No point waiting." Jack announced eagerly as Donna and Martha appeared in the boardroom with a stack of pizza boxes. They put them on the table and immediately Jack dived in. "They'll be up soon."

"Eurgh…" Donna murmured, rolling her eyes at him. River couldn't fail to notice, however, that there was far less irritation and far more affection in her expression than normal as she looked at Jack.

"This is really great pizza!" Rose enthused, taking a slice and sitting in the empty chair beside the Doctor who, unlike everyone else in the room, hadn't moved when the pizza was served. He was simply sitting and glaring at the table as though it had offended him.

Noticing this, River moved to perch on the desk in front of him. She looked into his eyes and spoke softly. "Doctor? Is something the matter?"

"You tell me?"

"I don't…"

"How could you lie to me, River?" He exploded, standing up quickly and knocking over the chair. "You made me believe that you loved me and it was all a lie, wasn't it? I was nothing more to you than a way out of Stormcage."

She looked bewildered, snatching a glance at Donna who was staring between them in confusion. "Doctor… I don't…"

"I saw a video of you talking to Martha and Gwen about me, River. You told them that you were using me as a way out of Stormcage… a way to freedom." He shouted, causing her to stumble backwards away from him as he advanced slowly. The intense fury flashing in his eyes was scaring her. "Love's a myth? River Song doesn't need anyone. Ring any bells?"

"I don't remember the conversation that you're talking about, Doctor." Martha told him, shaking her head. "I've never spoken to River about you… not like that, anyway."

He scowled at her. "I heard you, Martha, don't try to deny it now."

"But I honestly don't–"

"So what is your plan, River?" The Doctor asked, turning his back on his former companion. "You said you had a plan. What was it… oh, yeah, 'a complicated series of events'. You might as well tell me, now. I'm intrigued."

River shook her head, completely confused and horrified by the entire situation. She was so dazed that she couldn't speak. Her legs felt like jelly and she was sure that she was going to collapse. Suddenly, Donna was on her feet, a protective arm flung around her friend's shoulders and glaring furiously at the Doctor. He stared her out, refusing to back down under her judgemental gaze.

"What is wrong with you, you stupid Spaceman?" She bellowed. "Does that sound like River? Love's a myth? That's something I would say, not River. She's the bloody romantic around here."

"Donna!" The Doctor snapped in a half-indignant, half-disbelieving voice, as though he'd expected to be able to count on her support.

"No, Doctor. You are wrong. OK, even if it wasn't as plain as day that River is completely in love with you she wouldn't say something like that. It's not her." Donna reasoned. "This… video you saw. It was obviously faked. If River and Martha have no memory of the conversation ever happening then maybe someone invented it."

"Who showed you it, Doctor?" Jack asked.

Rather than answering him, the Doctor took an unsteady step towards Donna and River threateningly. In an instant Jack was between the Time Lord and the women, pushing him away from them with a warning snarl. He held up a hand, pointing at the Doctor, shaking his head.

"Don't you dare, Doctor. Don't you dare."

There was a flash of something in the Doctor's eyes. Jack could have sworn it was fear; fear of what his anger might cause him to do. And then, with a curl of his lip, the Doctor stalked out of the boardroom and down the steps. None of them were in any doubt that he was retreating to the TARDIS to lick his wounds.

No one was surprised that Rose turned and followed the Doctor. They were surprised, however, when after a moment's hesitation Mickey followed as well. Donna shot a look at Martha, who was watching his progress across the Hub in confusion, before returning her attention to River, who had slumped to the floor in silent shock, pulling the red-head with her.

"Jack." Donna muttered, looking up at him; her eyes wide and tear-filled.

He crouched beside her, his eyes similarly full of meaning and emotion. He reached out towards her and stroked her cheek lightly with his index finger. Donna's breath caught in her throat at his action and she stared at him in astonishment. As the door to the boardroom flew open, he retracted his hand quickly, standing up and turning to face Gwen, Rory and Amy who were standing breathlessly in the doorway. At once the couple's eyes were on their daughter and they moved to her side quickly.

"Are we too late?" Gwen asked, looking around.

"For what?" Jack snapped, unable to help himself. He held up his hands as she began rambling about Rose and a video and someone being locked in a cell. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Calm down, Gwen. Start again… slowly."

"Amy and I were down in the cells having a chat about... well, Rose, actually. Then we heard her and Mickey come down the stairs. They were talking about a video they made to convince the Doctor that River wasn't in love with him. They were deliberately trying to break them up. Then Rose realised we'd overheard and locked us in the cell. Rory let us out."

"Wh-what…?" River mumbled, her tear-stained face turning to face the woman from where she was curled up in a ball on the floor.

"M-Mickey?" Martha stuttered, looking heartbroken.

Mentally Gwen kicked herself for just blurting it out. "Yeah… I don't think he was happy about it… he seemed pretty pissed off with Rose."

"Still…" Jack muttered, earning himself a smack on the back of his leg from Donna.

River was sobbing now. Standing up, the Head of Torchwood began pacing, thinking about what he had learnt and what needed to be done. Rose was his friend; he knew her so well. He owed her a lot. The idea that she was capable of something as cold hearted as this was something he didn't want to believe. But the evidence was undeniable and Jack just had to run with it and try and fix what Rose had destroyed.

"OK… so here's what we do." He told them at last, speaking calmly and firmly. "River will go and hide at Gwen's. We'll tell the Doctor that she was in a state and took off on some kind of archaeological expedition to somewhere dangerous and that we couldn't stop her. Then we'll find that video and prove that she was innocent."

"Will it work?" Rory asked from the floor where he was still cradling his sobbing daughter.

"Who knows, but it's gotta be worth a try, right?" Jack told him with a shrug and a weak smile. "Right, off you go then."

Gwen nodded and led the way out of the boardroom. Amy and Rory followed, supporting River between them. As they headed down the stairs, Martha hovered in the doorway. She turned and shot Jack a look, tears in her eyes.

"I need to…" She murmured and Jack nodded, stepping forwards and squeezing her shoulder.

Then she was gone, looking for her husband to demand answers. As the door clicked shut quietly behind her, Jack turned to face Donna, who was crying silently. It seemed so out of character from the Donna that he knew, that the man was unsure how to react. After a moment's hesitation, he crossed the room, pushing chairs violently out of his way and gathering her up in his arms. For a moment Donna didn't respond, standing limply in his arms. Taking this as consent, Jack tightened his hold on her, stroking the back of her neck with one hand.

"Oi!" Donna half-heartedly snapped, pushing him away.

"Donna…"

"How could the Doctor believe that about River?" She whispered, staring at him sadly. "The Doctor… the best man I know; my best friend. How could he just ignore reason and believe… well, believe THAT."

"Donna… if there was anything I could do to make you happy, believe me, I would." He said seriously, looking into her eyes.

"Why?" Donna demanded suddenly, furrowing her eyebrows and looking at him suspiciously. Jack looked slightly taken aback.

"I'd have thought that was obvious, Donna Noble." He told her in a low voice. He moved closer and ran his hands lightly down her arms. Donna couldn't help shivering at his touch and her mouth fell open in surprise. "I'm completely in love with you."

"You… what?" She asked weakly, her usual defences struggling as she looked into his eyes. Jack's hands moved from her arms to her hips, circling her waist and pulling her closer to him.

"I love you, Donna."

She screamed and moved backwards quickly, flattening herself against the wall of the room, her hands over her mouth. Blinking, Jack took several steps towards her, but Donna held out her hands, motioning him to stay back.

"What's wrong?"

"I was just about to tell you the same thing."

Jack's face split into a broad grin. "Then do it."

"I love you."

She screamed again, pressing her hands tightly over her mouth as though that would allow her to retract the words without Jack having heard them. He chuckled and moved towards her, ignoring her protests. Putting his hands on either side of her face, Jack leant forwards and rested his forehead against hers.

"So, how can I make you happy?"

"Get rid of Rose." Donna requested with no hesitation. Slowly Jack removed his head from hers and drew back, looking into her eyes. They were dark and serious; she meant what she said. His hands dropped from her face and he stepped backwards.

"I- I can't do that, Donna." He shook his head and turned away from her. "Don't ask me to do that because I can't."

"I thought you said you'd do anything to make me happy?" Donna told him, throwing his own words back in his face. "Apparently you don't love me that much. Why do the blondes always get in my way?"

"Donna… be reasonable…"

She pushed past him heading towards the door. "Fine, don't. I'll just have to try and work out how to do it on my own."

"Don't be ridiculous. You have no idea how to reverse the Dimension Cannon." He pointed out. "It's dangerous. You could end up… anywhere!"

"I'll… I'll think of something."

"Donna, please! Just…"

"Just what, Jack? Forget that she might have ruined my friend's life?" She snapped, her eyes flashing dangerously. "I can't do that. I'd rather rip her pretty little head off her shoulders and feed it to the Weevils."

"Don–"

"No! You said anything, but clearly you weren't prepared to stand by that. So what was that little declaration of love about, then? Let's laugh at Donna day? Let's make her look like a complete idiot and then laugh about it later?"

"I love you." Jack repeated seriously, grabbing hold of her hand and pulling it to his chest to hold it over his heart. She tried to wrench it out of his grip, but he wouldn't let go.

"Prove it." She hissed. "Get rid of Rose."

Jack stared at her for a moment, before he whirled them round and pressed Donna up against the wall, leaning all his weight on her. For a split second he looked at her. She tried to catch her breath, caught out by his abrupt action and the weight of his body against hers. Then his lips were on hers, one hand tangling in her hair and the other gripping her hip, his fingers almost painful as he held onto her. Donna squeaked against his mouth, taken aback by all the pent-up passion that was pouring into his kiss. Then she relaxed, matching his emotions and using one hand on the back of his head and the other on his lower back to pull him even closer.

Finally, breathless, they broke apart and stared at each other. Donna blinked.

"Fine." Jack agreed, his voice so low she could barely hear it. "I'll do it."


	13. Chapter 13

**Act 5, Scene 1 – "Runs not this speech like iron through your blood?"**

Rory and Amy waited for Donna to arrive at Gwen's flat before they left for the Torchwood Hub. Their daughter was curled up on the sofa, clutching a blanket tightly around her and staring at the television screen with unseeing eyes. As soon as her friend arrived, however, she made sure that River was very clear about the fact that she was not going to let her wallow in her misery.

Long ago the red-head had decided that no man was worth crying over for more than an hour – at the very most – and she was not going to let River act like an idiot; even over the Doctor. Dragging River off the sofa, Donna firmly announced that the archaeologist was going to have a shower and get dressed and then they were going shopping.

"What I don't understand is why the Doctor fell for it." Amy told her husband, for about the tenth time, as they walked hand-in-hand through the circular door into the Hub.

Knowing what they knew about the cause of their daughter's upset, it had been very difficult to look at Rose and Mickey behind the desk in the Tourist Centre without ripping them to pieces, let alone dealing with the falsely sympathetic words Rose had sent in their direction. At least Mickey had had the good grace to avoid meeting their eyes and continue sitting in subdued silence.

"I don't understand it either, Amy." Rory answered quietly. He nodded at Martha as she emerged from the medical bay and headed towards Jack's office, her eyes red from crying, and led his wife over to the sofa in the corner. "He obviously wasn't thinking straight."

"Don't try and defend him." She snapped. "He doesn't deserve it."

Rory sighed. They'd been having the exact same conversation since the evening before when everything kicked off. "Come on… it's the Doctor; your best friend, remember."

"Yes and River's my daughter… our daughter, Rory. She has to take priority."

"And she does; always and absolutely. But… he's the Doctor."

"I know." Amy sighed.

They sat in dismal silence for a moment. Then they noticed that the paving slab lift was descending slowly from the ceiling. From their position they couldn't quite make out who was standing on it, but as soon as it became clear, Amy felt the anger bubbling up inside her at once.

Spotting his upset companions standing up from the sofa and surveying him angrily, the Doctor attempted to sonic the control panel of the lift and head back up to the safety of his TARDIS once more. He'd hoped that the Ponds would still be at Gwen's flat, where he'd been told they were staying so they wouldn't have to see or speak to him. In his hurry, the sonic screwdriver slipped from his hand, clattering to the ground and rolling towards Amy.

She bent down and picked it up, waving it at him and smiling sarcastically. Swearing under his breath, the Doctor was forced to stand on the paving slab, silently panicking as he got closer and closer to the couple. He supposed facing a furious Amy couldn't possibly be as bad as an irate Donna – something he'd been forced to face several times since he'd met her – could she? Then he changed his mind; they were both stereotypical red-heads in the temper sense and incredibly tricky to deal with. Even the expression on Rory's face scared the Doctor at the moment.

"You, you idiot Time Lord, have a lot of serious explaining to do." Amy snapped, bashing the sonic screwdriver into his chest with all her might.

The Doctor winced at the contact. "It was River who lied to me."

"She did not!" Rory exploded, moving Amy aside and advancing on the Doctor, pointing a finger angrily at him. "Someone lied to you, but it wasn't River."

"Well of course YOU'D say that." The Time Lord muttered. A split second later, he realised that this had been completely the wrong thing to say and tried to backtrack. "I-I mean… naturally. Naturally you and Amy wouldn't want to believe she was in the wrong. But, ahh…"

He stumbled backwards as Rory's fist connected with his jaw, sending him spinning in an almost full circle. Turning back to face the couple, the Doctor felt his face gingerly, wincing again at the pain that was spreading through it from the point of impact. Rory tensed and untensed his hand several times; the Doctor felt a twinge of vindication that he had clearly hurt it.

"Doctor... did you scan that footage? Did you do anything to check its authenticity?" Amy demanded, looking at him with less anger in her face as he rubbed his aching jaw. Her new expression was even more difficult for the Doctor to deal with; sadness and disappointment. "Of course you didn't because you were too upset to think of that. I understand that you would be upset, of course I do. If it was Rory I'd kill him; probably with his own sword." Rory blinked at her, a little concerned. "But you know River. She wouldn't do something like that. She's always been in love with you; and you know it. Think about it properly."

"I have." He muttered, unwilling to believe that he could have been tricked.

Amy shrugged and slipped her hand into her husband's, tugging gently to pull him away. "Then that's your loss, Doctor and I'm sorry for you."

Frustrated, the Doctor watched as they walked away, heading down towards the vaults. He dropped onto the sofa and put his head in his hands, wincing as he banged his jaw. He could understand that they wouldn't want to believe what River was capable of – personally, he was under no illusions of just how much she WAS capable of – but when there was evidence staring them in the face and they still maintained that it wasn't true… Their blind faith used to amuse him, even please him. But that was mainly because it was always directed at him.

"Jack!" The Doctor called, glancing up and spotting the former Time Agent making his way across the Hub. Stopping and turning to face the Time Lord, Jack's expression clearly said that he wasn't in the mood for a light chat. Nevertheless, the Doctor approached, smiling. "Just the man I was looking for."

"Why?"

"I was wondering what was happening. Where is everyone?"

"Amy and Rory are around somewhere–" He started in a blunt tone.

"Yeah, I just saw them…"

Jack's eyes flicked briefly over the Doctor's face, wondering whether it was regret he could hear in his tone. "Rose and Mickey are on Tourist Centre duty, Martha, Gwen and Donna aren't here… they didn't want to see you, so I gave them the day off."

"Oh…" His voice was small as he registered Jack's words.

"And I'm working on a way of reversing the Dimension Cannon that brought Rose back, so that we can send her back where she belongs. For good this time."

"Why?"

Jack laughed bitterly. "This was all her, Doctor. She was so blinded by her adoration of you that she was willing to do anything she could to get rid of River and leave the way open for her again."

"What are you talking about, Jack?" The Doctor scoffed.

"It was her. She persuaded Mickey to mess with the CCTV footage and make it look as though River was talking about you. Donna was right, that conversation never happened. It was a fake."

Sensing that the Doctor was still trying to block out the truth, Jack strode to the circular door and vanished into it, returning a couple of moments later with a nervous looking Mickey. The younger man, glanced at the Doctor's face and realisation spread over his in an instant.

"Tell him, Mickey." Jack demanded angrily. "Tell him what you did."

There was a pause and then Mickey sighed. "I didn't want to do it… I really didn't. But Rose said that if I'd ever loved her I wouldn't be able to watch her being as miserable as she was. And I felt guilty because I was so happy with Martha and she had no one. I really didn't want to do it, Doctor."

"Do what?" The Time Lord ground out, needing to hear the words from Mickey himself.

"Faked that video I showed you. I'm really, really sorry…"

There was a silence as the Doctor realised the connotations of this new information. He put his head in his hands, letting out a strangled cry and cursing whoever was out there in the big wide universe. Mostly, though, he cursed Rose Tyler. When he next spoke, he'd managed to get his voice under control.

"And… where is River now?"

There was a slight pause. Then Jack sighed and folded his arms. "We're not really sure, Doctor."

"What d'you mean?"

"She was in a state last night. I got Gwen to take her back to her flat, but then she announced she couldn't sit around doing nothing and was going to Jiwlopfren to look for the lost diadem of Mahpulo."

"Th- The lost…" The Doctor stumbled over his words, his face draining of colour. "But that's… ridiculously dangerous. It's nearly impossible to even get into the Ice Caverns, let alone make it out the other side."

"I know." Jack agreed with a nod. Mickey was looking as though he was about to have a heart attack. "But apparently they couldn't stop her. She'd dematerialised before they could get within five feet of her. Like I said, she was in a state… I don't think she really cared whether she made it back or not."

"Wh- Why are you still here?" The Doctor exploded suddenly. "Why has no one gone after her?"

Jack glared at him furiously. "Oh, so now you're worried about River, are you, Doctor?"

"What? Of course!"

"Shame you weren't as bothered last night."

"JACK!" The Doctor shouted. "This isn't the time! I need to…"

As the Doctor started off at a run towards the exit, Jack stood in his way, preventing him leaving, much to the Time Lords fury. "We'll find River." He told him coldly, deciding it wouldn't do the Doctor any harm to stew on the possible outcome of his mistrust for a while longer. "You can help me with the Dimension Cannon."


	14. Chapter 14

**Act 5, Scene 2 – "I do suffer love indeed, for I love thee against my will."**

Down in the main part of the Hub, Gwen and the Doctor were putting the finishing touches to the Reverse Dimension Cannon. Mickey, keen to make it up for his part in Rose's betrayal, had written the computer programme that would be downloaded into the hardware ready to ensure that, as soon as Rose was safely back in the parallel universe, the device would stop functioning. Martha was refusing to speak to him, turning her back as she helped Gwen and the Doctor as much as she could.

Leaning on the railings above them, Jack watched their progress, thinking hard. Someone would have to travel back to the parallel universe with Rose to explain to her colleagues there the consequences of building such a device. Jack was under no illusions that the last time the Dimension Cannon had been used it had aided Davros and Caan's plans on the Dalek Crucible. This time there did not seem to be anything like that happening, but a possible consequence could never be ruled out.

"Amy?" Jack called down to the red-head who was hovering beside Gwen. She glanced up and nodded, moving quickly up the stairs to his side. "Can you do me a favour? When Donna gets back can you send her up to my office?"

"Oooh!" The young woman squealed, beaming at him.

Jack sighed. "I need to speak to her."

"Yeah, right. OK. I won't say anything." She promised, winking.

"No, Amy… I just need to speak to Donna about this parallel universe thing."

"What's in it for me?"

Raising an eyebrow at her, Jack folded his arms. "You can chose dinner tonight… pizza, Chinese, Indian, Thai… your choice."

"Deal."

"So, will you tell Donna to come and see me?"

"Of course… I'd never stand in the way of true love." She teased, leaping back down the steps before Jack could respond.

He rolled his eyes and went into his office, closing the door behind him and sitting at the desk. The projections showed that the rift would be most active, and therefore most useful to help with the dimension shift, in about twenty minutes. Gwen had assured him that they would have finished by then; they were simply tying up the loose ends and ensuring there was nothing they'd overlooked. Hopefully Donna would be back by then, but if not…

Jack opened a drawer and pulled out a sheet of paper. For a moment or two he simply stared at it. Then he began to write, letting his feelings pour out of him and onto the page. He was so engrossed that he almost missed the sound of his door opening and someone entering the room. Flustered, he pushed the note underneath a pile of blueprints and looked up.

"You wanted to see me?" Donna asked, a smirk playing about her lips.

"And you came?" Jack asked, chuckling and trying to ignore how hot his cheeks were.

She grinned broadly. "I can go again, if you want, Captain Yak-features."

"Not one of your best."

"I know." She sighed as though it pained her to admit and moved around his desk to perch on the surface in front of him, her hands folded in her lap. "But I just haven't had the heart to think of any more recently."

"I appreciate the obvious effort you went to. I mean… thinking of things that rhyme with Jack… that must have taken a while."

"Not really… I'm quite good with words… Jack, yak, crack, slack, hack, back…" She laughed, the sound making Jack smile even more broadly. "So, what did you want to see me about?" His face fell slightly and instantly she reached out and put a hand on his cheek, her eyes flashing with concern. "What is it?"

"We've built a Reverse Dimension Cannon to send Rose back to her parallel universe."

"But… that's brilliant." Donna smiled, slightly confused as to why Jack still looked worried.

"Yeah… except someone will have to go with her to make sure they don't try anything like that again. The walls of reality have already been weakened twice and the Daleks took advantage of it last time. Who knows if there's anything biding its time out there this time." Jack told her.

Donna looked guilty. "Oh…"

"Yeah, oh." Jack agreed. He glanced quickly at the door and seeing that it was shut, he reached forwards and pulled Donna's face to his, kissing her tenderly. As he attempted to deepen the kiss, she moved away from him and fixed him with an amused look.

"Not the time, Jack." She pointed out with a sigh. "What exactly are you trying to tell me?"

"I have to go with her."

There was a silence as Donna processed his words. "Let me come with you."

"No." Jack shook his head. "It's too dangerous."

"You're telling me it's too dangerous and then expecting me to let you go?" She snapped.

"Yes."

"No."

"Donna…"

"Jack!"

Despite the tenseness, he smiled. "See, we can't even agree when we've decided we're in love."

"That would be boring." Donna pointed out with a shrug. "And so not us."

"Very true." Jack stood up and grabbed his coat from the back of his chair. Bending down and kissing her once more, he strode to the door. "But I am going."

Quicker than he thought she was capable of, Donna had passed him and was leaning her full weight against the office door so he couldn't pass. "You'll have to get through me first."

"Very tempting…" Jack murmured, his eyes burning a trail over her body. Donna felt her knees go weak at the look in his eyes. "But I don't have time. Donna you have to let me go. I need to make sure they stop trying to cross the universes."

"What's the worst case scenario?" She asked weakly.

"I get stuck in Rose's world and can't get back." He told her, looking into her eyes and speaking softly. "Or I get stuck between the two universes, trapped in the void." Donna's breath stuttered out of her as she felt hot tears pricking at her eyes. Jack smiled and cupped her cheek gently. "But that's very worst case. I'll be absolutely fine."

"Promise me."

"I promise." He told her seriously. "I love you, Donna Noble."

She smiled. "I love you too, Captain Jack Harkness. And when you get back I'm going to show you just how much."

At her words, Jack felt his resolve to go weakening rapidly. Looking at her, he could imagine all sorts of ways she could show him and his desire for her was much stronger than his desire to get Rose safely out of the way. Before he knew it, Jack had pinned her against the door and was doing his best to forget that he needed to leave.

Breathlessly they sprang apart as there was a tentative knock on the door. Donna practically sprinted across the room, rearranging her top so that it looked less indecent and perched on the edge of Jack's desk. He did the top couple of buttons of his shirt up and took a breath.

"Yes?"

Rory poked his head around the door, instantly taking in their flushed faces and the obvious distance between them. "Umm… they sent me to tell you that the Reverse Dimension Cannon is ready and the rift will be at optimum efficiency in five minutes."

"OK, thanks…" Jack told him as Donna bent her head, letting her hair fall over her face and preventing them seeing the tears that were pooling in her eyes.

"Is… is everything alright?"

"Fine, Rory, thanks." Jack assured him quickly. "I was just asking Donna to keep an eye on things here if… well, if the worst comes to the worst and I don't make it back. She might be a pain in the butt, but she's good at what she does."

"Back atcha, Captain Hunchback." Donna told him, standing up and stalking past them both. She gripped the banister tightly as she descended the stairs, willing her legs to cooperate and not collapse underneath her.


	15. Chapter 15

**Act 5, Scene 4 – "A miracle, here's our own hands against our hearts."**

Donna was unable to eat or sleep or think coherently for the next three days. In her mind she was doing a perfectly good job of hiding her feelings from the others, but they were having none of it. Knowing her as well as they did, they kept a wary eye on her from a distance, not wanting to spook her.

The depth of her feelings had taken them all by surprise; particularly Donna herself. The thought of Jack never coming back was the most painful thing she had ever experienced and, with every moment that passed and he did not appear in the Hub, she was beginning to think that perhaps that nightmare would become reality and she would have to live with the pain forever. If Jack didn't come back, Donna told herself that it was just proof of the pointless heartache that was love.

Finally, four days after he left the Torchwood Hub with Rose, Jack materialised. Gwen screamed, mainly because he had almost materialised on her lap, and leapt at her boss hugging him tightly and sobbing with relief. Donna let out a dry sob as well, covering her mouth as emotion washed over her. Her eyes met his over the brunette's head and Jack winked.

Before anything else could pass between them, the rest of the group appeared from wherever they'd been holed up. The Hub was suddenly full of laughter and explanations. Jack pulled the Doctor and River into a hug as they explained that they'd made up – although River assured the ex-Time Agent that the Doctor would be making it up to her for a very long time indeed. Jack winked saucily and said he expected details, causing the Doctor to blush violently.

"Right… we've had enough of this." Gwen said a while later. Jack and Donna had been pointedly avoiding each other during the impromptu celebration that was taking place in the Hub. "You two are clearly made for each other. You know it and we know it, so will you please just admit it and stop playing silly beggars?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Donna told her innocently with an overly showy shrug.

"Yeah, you're not fooling anyone, sweetie." River replied bluntly.

Amy grasped Jack's arm. "Jack… if you ask her, she'll have to say she loves you."

"Well?" Jack turned to face Donna, shrugging slightly. "Do you love me?"

She snorted. "No. Do you love me?"

"Yeah, right." Jack replied sarcastically, pulling a face.

"Children…" River muttered, rolling her eyes in exasperation.

"Well then clearly this lot have obviously lost the plot, because Gwen, Martha and River seemed to be convinced that you did... do." Donna told him, ignoring her friend's murmuring. Jack narrowed his eyes slightly.

"River, Rory and the Doctor said the same about you."

Donna shrugged. "They're all clearly insane; we should have them committed."

"So you don't love me?"

"Nope."

"Right… This is just boring now." Gwen rolled her eyes and pulled a folded piece of paper from the pocket of her jeans. "I found this in your office, Jack, when I was looking for the keys to the bottom storage container."

"Wha– Gwen… no."

Donna smirked and took the paper that was being held out in her direction, dancing out of Jack's reach so that he couldn't rip it off her. Before she was able to read it, however, her face paled at the sight of River reaching into a desk drawer and pulling out a very familiar book.

"This is the diary of Ms Donna Noble…" River announced, flicking through it and handing it to Jack, open at the right page. Donna squeaked indignantly, trying to grab it off her. "Sorry, Donna, but it had to be done. For your own good."

Glaring at them, Donna looked at the piece of paper that was covered with Jack's handwriting and read it quickly.

_Dear Donna. I'm writing this in case I don't get the chance to tell you what I feel in person. You asked me to get rid of Rose, so I am. For you. Not for the Doctor or River or anyone else. For you. I might not make it back from the parallel universe. There's the chance that destroying the Reverse Dimension Cannon will immediately seal the gap between the universes and I'll be stuck there. Alternatively I may be pulled into the void. But if that happens I want you to know that it was for you. I would do anything for you. I could have refused to do this, but then I wouldn't have you. I'd rather risk anything than not have you. I love you._

Donna felt herself blushing. Between the technical information, his feelings were evident. She glanced up at Jack, who was still staring down at the diary in his hands.

_Eurgh. I've finally been forced to admit to myself that I am completely, desperately, hopelessly 100% in love with Jack. I thought I would never fall in love again. After Lance and then Sean I never WANTED to fall in love again. What with all that pain and sadness it just wasn't worth it. But then… Jack. He makes me feel… alive. I love him with everything that I am. Eurgh… I sound like River._

Jack glanced up at Donna and arched an eyebrow.

"Oh, shut up." She muttered, folding up the piece of paper and pushing it into her bra. At the questioning looks from the others she shrugged. "No pockets… again."

"So…?" Amy prompted, bouncing on the balls of her feet excitedly.

"River mentioned that there was a play you wanted to see. Fancy it?" Jack asked, his eyes twinkling.

Donna worked very hard to keep her face blank. She shrugged. "Might as well. Only 'cos I want to see the play… it has nothing to do with you. I hope you realise that, Captain Kodak-moment?"

"Oh… shut up!" Jack muttered, using her own words against her. Then he wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her. Donna smiled against his mouth, her eyes fluttering closed and her arms instinctively moving around his neck holding him close. "I seem to remember you promising to show me just how much you love me?" Jack whispered in her ear when they broke apart, his breath tickling her and sending shivers down her spine. "Care to keep to your word?"

"Right, well… lovely as this was, I've got a… thing… I need to do." Donna said loudly in response, suddenly feeling hot all over. "Jack, care to give me a hand?"

"It would be my pleasure." He agreed, grabbing her hand and practically dragging her up the stairs to his office. The rest of them gathered in the Hub watched in amusement as they disappeared inside and the door was closed quickly. Seconds later the blinds snapped closed.

Gwen pulled a face. "I swear I am never going in that office again."

* * *

_**A/N: So that was it, my attempt at a Doctor Who/Much Ado About Nothing Crossover.**_

_**Thank you all so, so much for reading/reviewing/favouriting and subscribing. It means so much and I'm ridiculously happy that you enjoyed it!**_

_**Thank you! :)**_

_**Bex x**_


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